Between Mercy and Severity
by Zee-Dude
Summary: Summary too long. Read it in the first chapter.
1. Chapter 1: Another day

**Authors Note:**

**Hello fanfic readers. This is Zee-dude bringing you my very first (crappy) crossover story. It took a while to brainstorm the plot and organize the events, but I think it turned out okay if I do say so myself. Now, do take note that this is my very first fanfic I will publish on this site, so it wont be the best story out there. I would appreciate it if you review the story and tell me what I did right, and what I did wrong. Remember that flaming is not tolerated and will not help me improve my writing. However, I don't want anyone to feel like they HAVE to review a chapter. It's okay if you have nothing to say, but it always helps hearing from other people. **

**This story wont be all happy and cheery. The rating for this fanfic will be PG-13 (or T). The reason for this rating will be violent intense scenes of warfare, blood and gore, language, and mild suggestive themes. If any of that content offends you, please exit right now. If you don't care however, then stick around! My biggest fear is keeping readers bored, so I intended this fanfic to be in the action genre. But it will take some time for the action to actually begin, partly due to the fact that I first have to set up the events in the correct order.**

**One final thing I would like to point out; if you guys have never seen either Balto or Alpha and Omega, then the characters in this story will make no sense to you. I will also have two male OCs in this story. PM me if you ever want to use them in your own story (even though I think they suck).**

**Well I'm pretty sure you all want to kill me for making you read all that boring nonsense, so I'll let you read the first chapter of "Between Mercy and Severity".**

Summary:

After the events of Balto 3 Wings of Change, our hero, Balto thinks no more adventures will be passing by anytime soon, but fate has different plans for him and his family and friends. They will be sent on the biggest, craziest, and most dangerous adventure they have ever been through their lives, where they will meet new friends and new enemies.

Meanwhile Kate and Humphrey finally become mates after certain agreements between the Western and Eastern packs. It looks like peace may finally blossom onto the land of Jasper Park, but when an ancient relic is awakened, the events that unfold will attract the pack's worse enemies.

Nome Alaska Wednesday February 12, 1930 7:20am

Nome. It was too big to be called a city but too small to be called a village. Not many people came to live there due to the harsh climate. But the residents saw Nome as a beautiful white landscape with plenty of acres of land and vast mountains to gaze at. The sun rose over the horizon, alerting everyone that a new day had begun. The small wooden buildings bathed in the morning sun's rays while the snowy ground seemed to sparkle as the light poured over the terrain.

Beyond the town was a giant forest that contained several wolf packs. They rarely ever attacked the town, but there have been incidents where wolves would attack humans for food. The attacks caused widespread fear of wolves for all of the townies, which had caused a certain hybrid to be treated harshly by the local dogs and humans to treat him as a threat. But in reality, that creature meant no harm to anyone. But no one would give him a chance to redeem himself.

Years have passed and Balto was proclaimed the town hero. He saved the lives of many innocent children from a deadly disease, and later, saved a pilots life who wanted to take his son's job as a mailman. After those events, he was finally allowed to live in the same home as his mate Jenna lives in. This meant that the trawler would have to be abandoned, but he was okay with that. He finally had a real home of his own, owners that loved him, and a mate that never lost hope in him. Balto could've not asked for a better life.

Sunlight began to pour through Rosy's bedroom, causing a brown scruffy dog to stir. After a few more minutes, Balto finally began to open one of his light yellow eyes. He examined the room he was in as he yawned. He noticed Rosy was not sleeping in bed, most likely meaning that she was downstairs having breakfast. He slowly turned around to notice that his beloved mate, Jenna, was still fast asleep. She had a subtle smile on her face while she was still stuck in dreamland. He slowly nudged her with his nose until she opened her eyes.

"Good morning love" Balto said as his mate began to regain consciousness.

The husky smiled warmly as she noticed Balto in front of her, "Good morning to you too. Why are you up so early?", she asked as her husband stretched his legs.

"Don't you remember Jen? I got team practice for the big race two days from now", Balto replied. It was true. His musher had announced that they would be holding a sled race on the 15th, and Balto couldn't wait to compete with the other sled dogs.

The red husky looked at him concerned, "just don't get too excited Balto. God knows what could be out there in the track".

"Aww c'mon. I bet this race is nothing compared to what I had to face in the past", Balto said confidently. Once he said that his nose picked up freshly cooked food coming downstairs. "Let's go get us some grubs before I head out".

Jenna quickly followed him down the stairs where they were greeted by the strong scent of bacon, pancakes and coffee being made in the kitchen. Rosy's house was bigger than other houses in Nome, giving the family plenty of space to put furniture and maneuver around without being so crowded. Balto looked around until he saw a little red headed girl sitting down on the family table. Her face lit up as rosy caught sight of her hero wagging his tail as soon as both had noticed each other. Rosy quickly got up from her chair and went over to hug the wolf-dog tightly.

Once she let go, she greeted the dog like she always did. "Morning boy. Good morning Jenna", she said happily.

Both dogs barked in reply, as if it was a response. "You got a big day ahead of you Balto. I'll be cheering for you on the sidelines when that day comes", Rosy exclaimed, right before she was met with a long lick from the hybrid, causing her to giggle. Eventually, she got back up and went over to her parents who were still busy making the breakfast they would soon be eating. "Mom, dad.. Balto and Jenna need to eat to ya know", Rosy said, a hint of annoyance leaking in her tone.

Her father looked down at the little girl and patted her head, "Thanks for reminding me sweetie. I'll take care of it", he replied. "Honey, watch the pancakes while I feed the dogs", Rosy's father commanded while he made his way towards a bag of dog food. He picked up the bag and slowly made his way towards the two empty dog dishes inscribed with both Balto and Jenna's names on it.

"Damn bag", he muttered with a strained voice.

Once the two dishes were full, Balto and Jenna made their way over to their own breakfast and started eating. They both noticed that Rosy's father was serving the food on the family table. The house became quiet, all there was to fill in that silence was the sound of forks and spoons hitting the plates the sound of chewing coming from Rosy, Rosy's parents, Balto and Jenna. While eating her kibble, Jenna noticed that her mate was eating incredibly fast. In fact, he was not even taking the time to chew his food, but swallowing it wholly.

"Balto are you okay?" she pondered.

Balto didn't even look back at her, "I'm fine…can't be...late", he mumbled. His words sounding more like gibberish due to all the food that was in his mouth.

"Relax Balto- We have plenty of time. The last thing we need is for you to choke on a piece of kibble", she uttered, although the wolf-dog was already done with his food. He looked back at the husky next to him. "I'm sorry Jen; It's just days like these get me excited and all", he huffed. He glanced at the clock hung up on a wall and noticed that it was indeed early.

"Well it's up to you if you want to leave now. I'll have to hang out with Dixie and Sylvie until you get back", Jenna said.

"I want to be on the safe side for this one", Balto replied.

Jenna smiled," well I'll see you off then. Let's get going", she said, before finishing her last bits of kibble in her bowl.

The two walked out the doggy door and were greeted by the chilly Alaskan air blowing though their fur. Several children were outside running around or hiding from one another in the form of "hide-and seek". The couple began to walk away from their home and make their way to the post office, where Balto's sled team will be practicing. There was really nothing for Balto to worry about, was there?

Before reaching the post office, Balto and Jenna spotted a familiar dog walking with a group of other huskies. This particular dog had a darker shade of red, a pure white underbelly, brown eyes, and wolfish snout. Balto recognized the husky as his son Kodiak- or Kodi as everyone calls him.

One of Kodi's friends, Ralph, pointed his finger at Balto and Jenna, causing Kodi to turn around. When he did, a wide smile appeared on his face.

"Dad!", he shouted before running up and nuzzling his parents affectionally.

"It's good to see you too son", the hybrid said, after returning a nuzzle. "Why are you up so early? I was expecting you and your team to be snoozing off at the boiler room", Balto joked.

At this point, Kodi's teammates had joined the conversation. "Well we have an early shift today- Oh and I want to wish you luck out there in practice dad", said Kodi

"Thanks son, that means a lot", his father replied

"That's very thoughtful of you, Kodi", replied Jenna.

Kodi's friends said their fair share of good luck to Balto before heading out. Once everyone said their goodbyes, the couple continued their walk towards Balto's sled team. After they were out of earshot, Kodi grinned back at his friends, "So, were still going to that cave right?" he said, before his friends all smiled devilishly.

((((()))))

Nome Alaska Wednesday February 12, 1930 7:40am

Unaware that their own son had played tricks on them, Balto and Jenna made their way to the post office. Once they arrived, they caught sight of a sled and its harness, as well as Balto's friends: Kaltag, Nikki, and Star. The trio used to participate in bullying Balto with their leader, Steele. But after the serum run, Steele's betrayal had caused the three of them to rethink their idea of hating Balto for his wolf half. Siding with Balto had been one of the best decisions of their lives. Balto treated them with respect and was always looking out for them, something Steele never did.

Jenna turned to her husband one last time before heading off towards her own destination, "take care, honey", she said, giving him one last nuzzle.

"I'll be alright. I swear", Balto promised.

After one last goodbye, the couple went their separate ways. After watching his beloved turn towards an alleyway, Balto collected his breath and made his way towards his team. "We'll look who is up bright and early", said a voice in front of the wolf-dog.

Balto looked up to see that Kaltag was sheepishly smiling at him. He couldn't remember the last time Kaltag wasn't smiling. Hell, the Chinook would still be smiling even if it was the end of the world.

"Hey guys", Balto greeted. "You all ready for practice?"

"Yes sir!" they all exclaimed, as if he was some sort of military drill instructor. Eventually the canines couldn't help but laugh at what they just did.

"You guys didn't have to do that. But at least I know you guys are eager for practice. With that enthusiasm we'll win the race like nothing", the hybrid said.

"You said it. That race will be the fastest, er energetic, sweetest…"Kaltag babbled

"It's gonna be awesome!" Star shouted.

"Yea-what he said", Kaltag muttered.

"Ey! Here comes the musher guys" Nikki pointed out.

The canines looked towards the post office's main door to see a man who looked like he was in his twenties wearing a fur jacket, boots, long pants and a beanie on top of his head. He made his way towards the sled and set up the harness and connected the ropes unto the sled dogs until they were all in their respectful positions. The musher took one last glance at his pocket watch before getting on top of the sled and grabbing on to the ropes.

"Alright guys. We're going to be running through the wilderness for you to get an idea of what the race is going to be like in two days. This is a practice run so no need to waste all your energy", the musher announced.

"Someone's late to the party", Nikki muttered, causing Kaltag and Star to chuckle. The musher had a habit of talking to dogs as if they were humans. The other mushers found it amusing, but he believed that dogs could understand human speech. Little did he know he was right.

The musher pulled out his pocket watch and looked at it one last time before giving the signal, "mush!", he yelled to the sled dogs in front of him.

And they were off.

All the sled dogs propelling their legs backwards, kicking up snow behind them. It only took the entire team five minutes to cross the border between Nome and the mysterious wilderness. The musher pulled the ropes he was latched on to the left, which was a signal for Balto (who was the lead dog) to turn right.

Balto had never felt more alive in all of his years as a sled dog. Probably due to the fact that he was about to compete in his first BIG race. As he kept on running, he noticed all the snow-covered trees whiz past him in a blur. During his first days as a sled dog, he was surprised at how fast and smoothly his paws could carry him. As of now, he was running so fast and so focused on the road ahead of him, he didn't notice one of his teammates yelling at him.

"Hey! Speedy Gonzalez, you mind slowing down a bit? Remember this is only practice and you're going to make my feet come off", shouted Kaltag who was still trying to keep up with his leader.

"Sorry about that guys", Balto said awkwardly as he slowed down to give his teammates a breather. "Sometimes I wonder if yous do that on purpose", Nikki exclaimed. The others chuckled at his comment.

The sled dogs continued their trek through the vast wilderness, avoiding giant rocks, making sharp turns, climbing hilly sections, and even crossing a waterfall. They were all very simple obstacles since all the dogs have had worse experiences. Little did they know that the next obstacle would be one that will change their lives for eternity.


	2. Chapter 2: The Western and Eastern Packs

Jasper Park Canada Tuesday March 18, 2011 2:00pm

More than 80 years from now and looking of the east side of Alaska, is Canada. Jasper Park Canada. This land is home to the Western and Eastern Packs who own the territory. The two always had conflicts, whether it was one pack stealing the others caribou, or if it was one trying to expand their own land. Both agreed that an Alpha wolf, the highest rank a wolf can carry, shouldn't be allowed to be mates with an Omega wolf, the lowest rank in a wolf pack. That all changed when the alpha of the Western pack decided to abolish that rule to allow the two packs to unite.

This happened when a wolf from the Eastern Pack fell in love with Omega in the Western pack (Garth and Lilly). The alpha saw an opportunity to grant the long awaited wish to unite both packs. So he abolished the rule and united both packs, ending conflicts and near-war scenarios.

Today the wolves were on their usual hunt. Since both packs can hunt together, catching prey was a lot easier, which meant no starvation. Right now Kate and her hunting group were gazing at a lone caribou eating some newly grown grass. They were thinking on how to attack their target.

"I say we stop wasting time and charge at it and kill it", a short black and white wolf said frustrated.

"We do that and we'll give it a window of opportunity to escape", replied another wolf, this one tan and white with brown eyes.

"Stealth seems to be our best bet", whispered a bigger black and white wolf whose face looked like a white mask.

"Hutch, last time you tried to sneak up on a caribou, we had to chase it around for half an hour". Said the shorter wolf.

"Least I can flank properly", argued Hutch.

"Why you little…", Can-do was about to say before they heard Kate yell at them.

"Will you two shut the hell up already!", shouted Kate, right before they noticed their dinner run away, alarmed at the very sight of them.

"Oh great, look what you did", Complained Hutch.

"Well don't just stand there you morons, chase after it!", Kate yelled, right before she ran after the caribou who had got a good head start on the wolves.

The three hunters ran as fast as their legs could carry them, hoping they can catch up with their food, however the caribou already had a good lead on them, and was close to retuning to its own pack. Kate was already beginning to feel tired, but pushed harder to catch up with the animal.

"It's gonna get away!", shouted Can-do. Right then a wolf jumped from a cliff and latched its claws unto to the caribou's neck, causing it to scream in pain and stumbled to the ground. The caribou laid on the ground, blood oozing from its neck and unto the ground. The wolf got off the dead animal and smirked at Kate and her group, who were still panting from the chase they had. The wolf appeared to be no other than Claw.

"Not so sneaky, are you?", Claw exclaimed. Can-do let out a soft growl at the wolf in front of him. "You can have the kill. Our pack already has enough food for the night", Claw offered.

"Really? Thanks. I wasn't expecting that", Kate replied, smiling for the first time since the chase had begun.

"No problem. And next time, try to keep your volume a little lower", Claw said before heading off to his pack.

Together Hutch, Kate, and Can-do began to drag the dead caribou to the feeding grounds. "You know if the West and East weren't united, I would have ripped that guy's head off", Can-do let out.

"Man your always looking for trouble", replied Hutch.

((((()))))

Jasper Park Canada Tuesday March 18, 2011 5:00pm.

After several hours, all the wolves have gathered their hunt to the feeding grounds, an area where wolves usually eat. Some were already munching off while others were waiting for their friends to join in. Kate went to see her parents before heading off to her own den.

Eve was the first to notice her beautiful daughter walk up. "Hello sweetie", Eve said while nuzzling her daughter. "Tell me. How did the hunt go?", Eve asked.

'Not exactly as planned. We brought our share of food but we weren't the ones who killed it", Kate said sadly with her head hung down.

"Really? Who's the bastard who stole your kill?!", Eve said angrily.

"Relax mom. He gave it to us. And we would have never caught it if he didn't jump in", Kate reasoned. She had known her mother to be one of the most violent females in the Western pack. The last thing Kate needed was someone with their body parts scattered all over the place.

"Well at least you did your best honey", Kate's father, Winston, stepped in. She had always known her father was good with words. "You're going to eat with us, right Kate?", Winston asked.

"Oh no, sorry guys but I can't tonight. I promised Humphrey a romantic dinner with him tonight. I don't wanna break my promise you know", Kate said. She remembered promising her mate Humphrey before her hunt that they were going to eat alone together. She found the idea romantic and didn't need to call off the event.

"You know Kate you could have done a lot better in choosing a mate rather than that omega of yours", Eve said flatly.

Kate let out a soft growl. "Don't start", she clenched between her teeth.

Eve shrugged in response before allowing her daughter to leave. Kate got up and turned to leave her parents den. Once she was out of sight Eve looked back at her mate, who was sitting still.

"Something going through your mind", Eve asked her mate.

Winston shook his head in response, "it's nothing we should discuss", Winston replied. He began to walk out the den when Eve stepped in front of it. She had a look of concern on her face.

"Keeping it locked away won't help dear. Now tell me what's wrong", Eve pressed.

Winston groaned,"I'm not gonna get past this one, am I?" he said irritated. "Alright. If you want to know so badly, I'll tell you", Winston said before lying down.

Eve laid down next to her mate, eager to hear what Winston had to say.

"Its… about "them" ", Winston said slowly.

Eve cocked her head in confusion to her mate's response. "Who's them", she asked

"You know, the pack we met before Lilly was born", Winston replied.

Eve put her paw in her head to try and remember any packs she had met before her second daughter was born. Indeed there was one that stood out from the rest in her memory. She nodded her head when she figured out what pack her mate was referring to.

"You and I both know "he" is obsessed with power", Winston continued.

"Where are you going with this?" Eve asked all of a sudden.

"You and I both know what would happen if he found the artifact. Or worse, if it somehow activates all of a sudden", Winston inquired.

Eve just rolled her eyes in amusement before speaking, "that's what you're worried about? I thought it was something _worth _worrying", she said amused.

"You think? We may have avoided war with the Eastern Pack, but "they" are a different story" Winston retorted.

"Well as far as I know, that pack doesn't know the artifact to the last detail like we and the Eastern Pack do. You should thank Tony for doing his research", Eve considered.

The alpha wolf just sighed. The pack he did not dare mention was more sinister than he had ever known, and they hid it pretty well. Tony may know more about the object than any other wolf, but the one thing no one knew, was what the artifact did.

His thoughts were interrupted at the sound of his mate's voice, "listen. Why don't we go eat at the feeding grounds and forget we ever had this conversation", Eve suggested.

Winston in return smiled and nodded in agreement. He liked the sound of that. The two wolves got up and walked out the den together and headed for the feeding grounds.

((((()))))

Jasper Park Canada Tuesday March 18, 2011 5:30pm

Kate continued walking to her own den with a large piece of bloody meat in her mouth. Since she and Humphrey were married, they got themselves their own den. Kate found it more suiting for her rather than her parents den she used to sleep in. the sun was beginning to set and she hoped she wasn't late.

She made one last left turn and saw a familiar den. It was smaller than her parents but it was near a river, making baths easier to get to. There were also several tall trees with large palms that gave off shade during those hot summer days.

She set the piece of meat on the ground and began sniffing for Humphrey. She caught his scent, but he was nowhere to be seen.

_'I swear if he got his head stuck on that tree again…'_ Kate thought.

She was about to look inside the den when she heard pawsteps coming from her right. She quickly turned around to see Humphrey all soaked and wet, water still dropping from his fur.

"Hey babe", He greeted warmly. His sweet, gentle voice never failed to put you in a better mood. "Watcha got there?", he asked, pointing at the large piece of meat that was on the ground.

"I think the better question is why you are all wet?", she asked confused.

Humphrey chuckled slightly in response before shaking himself dry. Kate had to put her paw in her way to not get wet as well, even though she already had.

"I took a nice bath for our "romantic" dinner", he said before winking his eye.

Kate padded up to him before saying," well you missed a spot I see", she said.

Humphrey cocked his head, "Where?", he asked.

In response Kate playfully licked his nose, "there", she said before giggling.

Humphrey smiled at his mates action before something hit him(metaphorically), "wait were you being literal or were you just playing around", Humphrey asked, making Kate laugh.

"Never mind that. Let's start eating before this thing rots", Kate suggested before digging her teeth into the cold meat.

Humphrey laid down next to her staring at her. Even when he was young he always thought Kate was the most beautiful creature to live on the face of the planet- and she only seemed to get more beautiful as she'd grown. Now, in his eyes, she looked like an angel. Eventually Kate noticed her mate staring at her with a mischievous smile on his face.

"Hey. You still in their?", Kate said waving her paw in front of Humphrey's face. Humphrey shook his head back to reality.

"Sorry", he apologized. "Was I doing it again?"

"Yea, you were" Kate replied.

After a few more minutes of awkward silence, the two wolves continued their dinner while talking about their past adventure, told jokes, and enjoyed each other's company. The moon had finally come up, along with a vast amount of stars, making the environment more romantic for the two wolves.

Eventually they both had to call it a night. Both wolves had responsibilities they had to take care of tomorrow, and sleeping late was the last thing they needed. The two entered their own little den which had room exactly for two. So no one was uncomfortable while they slept. Kate laid down right before she noticed Humphrey was staring at one of the den's walls.

"You okay Humphrey sweetie?", Kate asked.

Humphrey looked back at her with a blank expression on his face, "I have the strangest feeling that something bad is going to happen soon", Humphrey responded.

Kate cocked her head in confusion. What could he possibly mean by that? She eventually shook it off and spoke up, "whatever it is babe, worrying won't help. Just come get some sleep", Kate suggested.

Humphrey eventually complied and gave his legs one last stretch before lying down next to Kate. He pulled her closer to him so that their bodies touched and gave off warmth.

"Goodnight Kate", Humphrey said.

"Goodnight sweetheart", Kate replied, before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

**Authors Note:**

**Well, here you have it; the Alpha and omega side of my crossover. I know I'm suppose to clash the two universes together, but that will most likely happen in the fourth chapter. If you be patient you'll see why. I hope your enjoying the story so far. Don't forget to review whenever you get the change.**


	3. Chapter 3: The Artifact

**Authors Note:**

**Okay, so before you guys start reading this next chapter, there was something i forgot to point out to all you readers. To start off, this story will not have any form of anthro in it. If you don't know what an anthro is, its basically animals with human features (walking on two legs, wearing cloths, etc). Reason why I'm doing this is that I generally dislike Balto or Alpha and Omega characters being anthros. Sorry you anthro fans, but this story will not contain any of those things.**

**Now there is a twist. Even though these characters are not going to be anthro in any way, they will still do things like point guns and drive vehicles. This is similar to BrytheSpy's story where Balto enters The Walking Dead (really good story btw. You should check it out). You guys are just going to have to imagine wolves or huskies using AK47 while being non-anthro. Its gonna be tough, but like BrytheSpy said in one of his fics, "Imagination can be powerful".**

**One final note before I end this authors note. I would like to thank** _the dark_ shadow **for posting a review. Thanks dude (or girl) for letting me know your opinion on the story. You guys should follow his lead. Don't be shy to post a review, even if it's not a positive one. Just let me know how I can improve. **

**Okay, now with that out of the way, you may now read my latest chapter.**

Nome Alaska Wednesday February 12, 1930 9:00am

As the sun rose to its peak, Balto and his team were almost done with their practice run. They have been moving their paws for 70 miles now and only needed 30 more to go. The musher noticed a tight cavern-like area coming in front of him. "It's about to get tight guys!", he yelled at the dogs in front of him.

Balto noticed the cavern and slowly swerved to the left to center the sled and his team. Together the musher and the sled dogs ran through the tight path. Some of the wheel dogs were barley scratching on one of the cavern walls. It only took the team a couple of seconds to cross the cavern and back to the usual road.

"Ok. We just need to get home now boys. Lets kick up a notch", shouted Balto to his teammates.

The hybrid sped up his pace along with all the other sled dogs behind him. At this rate they would beat the required time like nothing. As Balto kept gracefully running he noticed the ground disappear in front of him. He quickly came to a conclusion they were about to go down a steep hill.

Balto tried to slam his front paws on the ground like some sort of brakes, but he slowed down too late. Before they knew, all of the sled dogs were going down the hill like if they were a part of a rollercoaster cart. The sled kept going faster and faster like a never ending freefall. Balto tried to slow down by putting pressure against the ground, but the hill was too steep for him. The musher on the other hand, was holding on for dear life onto the harness, lest he fall and break one of his bones.

The sled finally reached flat land but was still going in blazing speeds. The wheel dogs did their best to catch up with the speed of the sled. Some almost stumbled and fell due to the incredible speed.

"Guys! Use your front paws to slow this thing down before we all stumble and crash!", Balto suggested frantically.

All the wheel dogs put their own front paws on the ground to slow down the sled. It eventually worked and the sled was back at normal speeds.

"Oh thank god for that. My feet couldn't keep up with the sled man", Kaltag exclaimed.

"Well were almost home guys. We just need to…" Balto was cut off when a deafening "boom" like sound echoed across all of Nome. The sound caused all the sled dogs to stop immediately and find out what just happened.

Balto saw it. A shockwave was heading straight towards them. And it was coming fast.

"Get your heads down!", Balto shouted before ducking and putting his forepaws in front of his face. The other dogs did the same as well as the musher. The shockwave passed by them like a bolt of lightning. But they weren't blown away from it. Only the snow and trees around the team reacted to the shockwave. Balto got up and saw an astonishing view.

A pillar of light was shooting from somewhere in the forest and unto the sky. It was clear and was actually quite beautiful. Balto's friends got up and noticed the beam of light as well. Nikki was the first to speak.

"What…is that?", Nikki asked astonished.

They kept staring at the pillar of light until they felt the ground beneath them shake violently. All the dogs thought it was an earthquake, causing them to once again duck their heads. A tree began to fall towards Kaltag. Thinking quickly, he dived away just in time, the tree barely missing him. Star was terrified out of his mind and already wet himself due to extreme fear.

"What the hell is going on?!", yelled Kaltag.

"Just crawl your way to this rock! All of you!", Balto yelled back, who already had his back against a large icy boulder. The other sled dogs crawled over to the massive rock since they couldn't stand up properly without falling every three seconds. The musher grabbed the sled and put it over his head to protect himself from debris.

The earthquake continued to shake the ground everywhere. Balto took a peek only to find a massive ball of energy growing in size closing in on the team of dogs.

"HANG ON!", Balto screamed as the massive sphere of energy continued to make its way towards the sled dogs. It came close and closer, faster and faster. Everyone had their eyes shut except Balto, who could only watch the massive ball of energy loom towards him. When the sphere made it to the sled dogs, everything went from chaotic and freighting, to pitch black darkness.

Nothing but darkness…

((((()))))

Nome Alaska Wednesday February 12, 1930 8:30am

_30 minutes earlier._

Looking back a little earlier before all the chaos, we see four dogs walking around in the woods of Nome. One of them was laughing to himself. These dogs were no other than Kodi and his friends: Ralph, Dusty and Kirby.

"And I still can't believe you parents thought we had an early shift today", Ralph exclaimed, chuckling to himself.

"Yea. Apparently your father forgot it was a holiday, well for us at least", said Kirby.

Kodi looked back at the two chubby huskies and turned back around shaking his head. "I still think it was wrong of me to lie to them like that", Kodi said guiltily. He had always been a good pup; always following the rules and being trustworthy to his parents. But today, he broke that streak of trustworthiness. He knew he was going to regret his actions later.

"Well it's not like this cave is dangerous right?", asked Kirby.

Kodi stopped in his tracks and turned around to face his three friends. "You guys don't get it. I'm not going to show you the cave, but what I found inside the cave", Kodi explained.

Dusty, the only girl in Kodi's group, cocked her head to the side before speaking up. "Well why don't you just tell us what you found?", she asked confused.

In return Kodi chuckled to himself. "You wouldn't believe me unless I showed it to you first hand", Kodi replied.

The four huskies continued walking though the snowy wilderness. After what seemed like an eternity, Dusty finally had enough. " Alright are we lost or something? Because I think we're going in circles and my goddamn paws are already sore", she complained.

"Don't worry. We're already here", Kodi said.

The four dogs looked around only to find trees with snow on top, some old rocks, and branches with icicles. There was an awkward moment of silence. Kodi's friends wondered if he was hallucinating.

"Uh dude, I don't see no cave", Ralph said while scratching his left ear.

"It's through those bushes guys. We cross that and we'll see the cave", Kodi said confidently.

The other dogs sighed and made their way to the bushes. They kept going through (while some of them got thorns on their fur) until they saw some light. Dusty was the first to exit the thorned covered bushes. There she saw a vast cave with ice crystals on the roof of the cave. It looked pretty dark, and the four dogs had no light source what-so-ever. The cave itself looked like it was made out of volcanic black rocks.

Eventually, Kodi and the rest joined the female husky in the gazing. "Alright. I hope it's still in there. Let's go", Kodi said.

"Whoa whoa, slow down there man. Were going _in _the cave. I thought we were just gonna take a peek inside", Ralph said.

"It's okay. I already been here once, and I know no one lives here. Now are we going to go in or what?", Kodi said impatiently.

Ralph and Kirby looked at each other nervously. They weren't sure if it was worth finding out what was inside that cave. Dusty on the other paw, padded up to Kodi before saying, "I trust you, Kodi. I'm going in. what about you guys?", she asked.

The two dogs hesitated at first before answering, "Alright fine. But this better be worth it", Kirby said.

"Trust me guys. You will never see anything cooler in your life", Kodi replied, eager to see his friends reaction as soon as they notice the object.

((((()))))

The huskies walked inside of the cold, giant cave, looking around for anything that looked like an object of interest. The cracks on the roof were big enough to allow some sunlight inside the cave, as if they were some kind of natural lamps. With each pawstep one dog would make, it would echo across the cave. The ice crystals on the roof of the cave made its appearance less scary.

"It's just around this corner guys", Kodi said, his voice echoing through the caves walls.

The four dogs made a left turn until they saw it…

There was a cone shaped rock in the middle of the path, but with its top completely sliced off. On the flat surface, were pieces of metal objects _floating_ in mid air around the top of the cone shaped rock. There was some kind of invisible boundary since the pieces would not go beyond the edge of the flat surface. There was also a large hole on the roof of the cave, causing the sunlight to look like some kind of spotlight on the pieces of floating metal. The four huskies stared in amazement.

"Holy crap", whispered Ralph.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing", Kirby asked in amazement.

"It's…beautiful", Dusty muttered.

Kodi had a smug on his face, "I knew you guys would like it", he said. "You wanna take a closer look?", Kodi offered.

They all nodded and started to slowly walk towards the floating pieces of metal. Once they were face to face with the objects they continued to stare in awe. Meanwhile, Kodi's usual smile was replaced by a look of suspicion. He noticed carved into the rock, was a perfect pawprint. Kodi looked at his paw and then back at the carving. They were very identical.

Kodi stepped forward and without thinking, pressed his paw against the carving. It somehow fit perfectly. Dusty noticed what her friend was doing out of the corner of her eye. But before she could say anything, she noticed the edges of the carving starting to glow blue. Everyone else shifted their sights to the carving, while Kodi stared in shock.

"Whoa! How'd you do that?", Kirby asked astonished.

Before Kodi could answer he saw zigzagged lines beginning to glow blue all around the rock. "Whoa", he whispered.

The four huskies then noticed the floating pieces of metal suddenly stop floating around and just stand completely still in place. Then out of nowhere, the pieces of metal began to assemble themselves in front of the already amazed dogs (kinda like how the promethean weapons assemble themselves in Halo 4). The pieces ended up shaping themselves into some sort of ancient handle you would find off of a sword. It was golden and had Sabean script all around it.

"Okay, that is just creepy", Ralph said while Kirby's jaw was completely dropped.

"What do you think it is?", Dusty questioned.

"I have no idea. I didn't even know I could do that", Kodi answered. He continued staring at the floating handle until an idea popped into his head. He reached out to grab the handle with his paw.

Dusty noticed what Kodi was about to do. She didn't know what that thing was, and she was worried something bad could happen if Kodi touched the object. "Wait Kodi, don't do it!", she warned.

Kodi ignored her and quickly grabbed the handle from its anti-gravity post. Ralph and Kirby were too shocked to say anything after what they just witnessed, but Dusty's head was still working. She growled at Kodi, who tuned around confused at her actions.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! We don't know what this thing is and you just grab it as if it were some sort of toy. For all we know this object could be dangerous!", Dusty argued.

Dusty's yelling was enough to put Ralph and Kirby back to reality. Kodi looked at her confused, "Dust would you calm down. It's just a handle and if something bad would have happened, it would have most likely happened now. Jeez your just like my mother sometimes", Kodi countered.

Dusty only kept staring venomously at Kodi, waiting for something to happen. But there was nothing but silence. Awkward silence.

Kodi eventually shifted his gaze back at the object. He turned it around and spun it to find anything of interest. He couldn't understand the writing that was all around the object. As he kept rotating the handle, he noticed a small button blended in with the décor of the artifact.

"Hey, I think I found some sort of button here", Kodi exclaimed.

"Well don't press it. Let's just leave this place and leave that "thing" here", Dusty suggested.

"Aww c'mon Dust. Don't you want to know what happens?", Kodi asked.

Dusty was about to say 'no' when she realized she did want to find out what would happen if that button was pressed. '_I just know I'm gonna regret this' _she thought before signaling Kodi to press the button. The object slipped out of his paws by itself and begun to float in mid-air again.

"Damn, that's cool", Ralph said. Then Kodi's ears perked up as he heard something coming from the floating object. It sounded like a beeping noise getting louder. The object began to shake violently as the beeping noise got louder and louder.

_'Uh-oh'_ Kodi thought before spinning around at his three friends. "I think it's time to go guys", he suggested. The three huskies looked at the object that was already shaking violently while the beeping noise was becoming painful.

They all turned around and began to run as fast as they could. The echo of the beeping noise was not helping at all. The four dog's supersensitive ears were on the brink of bleeding. Kodi looked back one last time. Then out of nowhere, the world went deadly silent for a split second before a massive blast like sound erupted from the object, closely followed by a shockwave.

"Look out!", Kodi yelled to his friends. The shockwave quickly zoomed past the four dogs without affecting them whatsoever. But their ears were still ringing from the blast.

"What the hell did you do?!", Kirby asked frantically.

Kodi took a moment to catch his breath, "I don't know. All I did was press that button and then I…", Kodi was cut off by the sound of Dusty's voice.

"C'mon guys! We gotta get out of here before that thing goes off again", Dusty yelled.

"She's right boys. Lets hustle", Kodi exclaimed, before dashing off, with his friends closely behind him.

The four huskies made the same turn they went through earlier. They were only 50 meters away from the exit. Before any of them could get their hopes up however, the ground began to shake like crazy, causing them to fall down. Rocks from the ceiling were falling from all directions in the process.

"Get up! Get up! We gotta go now!", Kodi yelled. He quickly got up on all fours, doing his best to stay balanced. But before he could make a break for it, he turned around to see Dusty, still on the ground. She looked up at Kodi with fear in her eyes.

"Kodi! I can't get up. The ground it's… shaking too hard!", Dusty yelled.

Kodi had to think fast on this one. He couldn't let his best friend buried here for his own cause. He turned around to see Ralph and Kirby looking at him confused, all while trying to keep their balance due to the earthquake.

"Get out of here! I'll help Dusty!", Kodi ordered. The two of them nodded and dashed straight for the exit. Meanwhile, Kodi grabbed Dusty's jump ring with his teeth and pulled the husky on his back. He then did his best to run at full speed, which was not easy with another dog on his back. He looked back at Dusty, with a saddened expression on his face.

"Dusty, if we don't make it out of here alive, I'm sorry", Kodi whimpered.

"Quit your dramatic ripped off movie quotes and get us out of here!", Dusty said half-joking half-serious. That was enough confidence for Kodi to run towards the goal. He smoothly dodged debris falling from the ceiling while sprinting towards the cave's mouth.

_'Damn he's good' _Dusty thought to herself.

The two finally made it outside but the quake was only getting worse. Kodi quickly ran through the bushes, not even caring about the thorns getting in his fur. He noticed Ralph and Kirby standing there, lost.

"What are you doing!? Keep going!", Kodi yelled. Before any of them can start to run, another deafening blast was heard. This time, all four dogs saw a massive dark purple ball of energy grow towards them. All they could do was watch.

"COVER YOUR HEADS!", Kodi screamed at the top of his lungs, which was still barely audible due to all the chaos.

The ball of energy grew towards them so quickly that it only took a split second to reach the four dogs. When it did, everything turned to black, with the only sound being that ear ringing noise.


	4. Chapter 4: A strange series of events

Jasper Park Canada Wednesday March 19, 2011 5:00am

In Canada and other places that are up north, the sun rises and sets earlier than places near the equator. So it was usually pitch black at five in Canada. Every wolf in Jasper was sleeping, and the only noises being the sound of the wind and the tree's leaves rustling. The moon was close to its full phase.

Inside a certain den, a tan alpha wolf and a grey omega wolf were sleeping peacefully, their bodies cuddled together. The grey wolf had a slight smile on his face while a "naughty" dream played through his head. His perverted paradise was cut short when what sounded like an explosion rang through the entire wilderness of Jasper.

Almost immediately after the blast Humphrey shot his head up, startled before hitting his head on the den's roof. He looked outside, rubbing his head, but everything was normal. '_Something would wake me up when I'm having a hot dream' _Humphrey thought. He quickly went over to Kate's side who was (oddly) still sleeping peacefully.

"Kate. Get up!", Humphrey whispered urgently while nudging her awake with his paw.

Kate opened her brown eyes to see a familiar omega in front of her. He somehow had a look of worry on his face.

"Humphrey it's early in the morning. What do you want?", she asked annoyed.

Humphrey looked at her in disbelief. "You're kidding, right? You didn't here that explosion that sounded like a nuke going off!?", he exclaimed.

"What explosion? You sure you're not sleep walking?", Kate asked confused.

Once she said that another blast was heard, but surprisingly, the ground never shook and inch. Humphrey yelped in fear and hid behind Kate.

"Do you believe I'm crazy now?", asked Humphrey while his legs started to shake in fear.

Kate ignored his comment and ran outside to see any type of mushroom cloud or fireball in the sky. There was nothing but the moon and several stars. Then she noticed in the distance a faint dust cloud in the distance. In closer observation she saw it was really a shockwave from the blast, quickly closing in on their den.

"Oh shit! GET DOWN!", she yelled at her mate before pouncing Humphrey inside the den. Immediately the shock wave zoomed past them at what seemed like the speed of light, blowing a strong gust of wind behind it. Once it was quiet again Kate looked down at Humphrey, who had a sly smile on his face.

"Why are you smiling?", Kate asked. They nearly got killed and this wolf over here was acting like if this was some kind of joke.

Humphrey only grinned in return before answering, "You should do that more often", he whispered.

Kate only rolled her eyes before getting off the omega. She took one last glance outside the den. Several voices could be heard yelling in the background. After a few more minutes a thought popped in to Kate's head. What if her little sister, Lilly, or her parents were hurt because of that shockwave?

She looked back at her mate one last time before saying, "I gotta go", she said quickly before she scurried over to her parents den. Humphrey was quick to catch up to her soon after.

"Wait, where are you going?", Humphrey asked.

"My parents den. I have to make sure they're all right", Kate replied without looking back at the omega closely behind her.

Since it was still very dark outside the forest, it was hard to see incoming trees or rocks that could get in the way of the couple. The only source of light was the almost full moon, which barely lit up anything. The two finally made it to the more populated area of the Western territory. Several local wolves were outside with a mixture of both fear and suspicion in their faces. Kate kept looking around frantically for any signs of her little sister or her parents. '_Dammit where are they'_ Kate thought to herself. She was about to walk up further until she heard a familiar voice shout her name.

"Kate!", Shouted the voice behind her.

Her ears perked up before she spun around to notice a familiar white-furred wolf.

"Lilly!" Kate exclaimed before rushing up to her little omega sister and hugging her tightly. After a few more minutes, Kate finally let her go. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" Kate questioned nervously.

Lilly looked at her back before answering, "I don't think so. But I'm more worried about mom and dad", she said as three more wolves ran past the trio.

"Then we better hurry over to your parents den. No telling what that blast did or where it came from", Humphrey suggested.

The two sisters nodded in agreement before they ran to the Alpha's den. Once they passed the populated section and unto the more rural part of the Western territory again, Kate spoke up.

"So where do you think Garth is in all this mess", she asked.

"I don't know. I just hope he's okay. I haven't moved in with him yet and I was worried that something like this would happen", Lilly explained while worry was written all over her face.

"So you knew something like this would happen?", Humphrey asked.

"What? No, no. I'm just saying a catastrophe in general", Lilly replied.

The three wolves continued to run and run until they finally caught sight of a rather large den for a wolf. They began climbing their way to the top, since the den overlooked most of the territory. After some effort, the three wolves went inside only to find that nobody was home. Eve's and Winston's scents were still in the air, but that was the only trace of evidence the three wolves could find.

"Oh no. where could they be?", Lilly asked worriedly

"Let's check the back of the den. Its looks like their scent leads that way", Humphrey said.

The three wolves once again hiked their way to wherever Kate's and Lilly's parents could be. They made their way through very think bushes they had to cross. Kate got several small cuts while Lilly had a bunch of leaves all over her fur. Once the trio made it out of the small maze, Lilly shook the leaves off her before noticing something very strange.

A secret passage.

The ground declined greatly to where it led to an underground cave. It looked almost like a human made fallout bunker, except this underground passageway did not have any type of door. There were several torches lit on the caves walls, allowing the wolves to get a better view inside.

"How long has this been here?", Lilly asked.

"Whatever it is, I don't think we should go in there", Kate suggested.

"Wait but, your parents scent is coming from that cave", Humphrey explained.

Kate looked back at her mate with one eyebrow higher than the other, "You sure my parents didn't jump you, for whatever reason, which caused their scent to be all over your fur", Kate joked.

"Kate, he's right. I can smell them too", Lilly said while Humphrey put a smug on his face.

"I was just kidding", Kate muttered.

"HA! Sure you were", Humphrey exclaimed.

"C'mon. We shouldn't waste time standing here", Lilly said before running to the underground path.

Humphrey and Kate hesitated at first, but when they saw how brave Lilly was being, they eventually joined her inside the underground cave.

((((()))))

(Area 7) Jasper Park Canada Wednesday March 19, 2011 5:50am

The three wolves were inside of an unknown secret passageway that was going underground. In all their lifespan the three of them have never discovered the place before. Kate thought that the older wolves in the pack knew about the place but never told them, including her parents. The three kept walking closely together until Lilly's ears perked up. Kate and Humphrey noticed that she stopped walking.

"Lilly, what's wrong?", Kate whispered.

"I think I hear someone talking", Lilly replied.

Humphrey stepped onward before leaning his head forward. His eyes widened when he heard someone talking.

"She's right. Someone's talking", he whispered.

The two female wolves joined in on overhearing the conversation not far from them.

"This is not good man. I never thought this thing would turn on all of a sudden", a voice said.

"You know how this object works better than anyone. Didn't you say there was a clone of this thing?", another voice asked, this one sounding familiar to Kate.

"That right. Someone must've messed around with this objects clone and ended up turning it on, which caused ours to do the same. The only question is who did it", the first voice wondered.

Kate suddenly realized who was talking. She would know that voice anywhere. She also sniffed the air to discover that her father's scent was really strong, coming to the conclusion that he was in this cave as well.

"My god. Its dad and Tony!", Kate whispered rather loudly.

Humphrey ignored her and continued to listen in on the conversation.

"Oh crap. What if the Northern and Southern packs find out about this? You know they have tried to take this relic away from us before", Tony said.

"We won't tell them everything. Right now our best option is to bury this thing so they won't find it. If they ask where it is, we'll just lie to them", Winston explained.

"That won't work. They will become suspicious. And when they find out we lied to them, that bastard Blaze will try to wage war on both of our packs", Tony continued.

Kate had heard enough. She quickly dashed though Lilly and Humphrey and hurried along to where her father was.

"Kate, wait!", Humphrey shouted but was too late. She had already made a left turn and was out of sight.

Kate turned to see a very long hallway leading up to a large room. She kept running to find out what was going on. She heard her little sister and her mate chase after her, but she ignored them and kept pushing ahead. Once she finally got there she noticed a variety of things: first off, her parents, Tony, the alpha of the Eastern Pack, and his son where all talking about something. What stood out the most was a golden covered handle that looked like it was off a sword with ancient writing on it that was _floating_ in mid-air. It also had a red hue going around it, as if it were possessed or something. At this point Lilly and Humphrey had caught up with the tan wolf.

Eve was the first to notice the three wolves, "Lilly, Kate? What are you doing here?", she asked.

Kate then focused her attention on her parents. "I was just trying to look for you guys right after that blast thing went off. I wanted to make sure you're alright", She explained.

Winston looked like he was busted for doing something wrong. "Well we're fine honey. Now wait outside for a few minutes, we'll be right with you", the grey wolf said.

Humphrey noticed the floating handle like object, and was taken by surprise, "Whoa! Where did you find that?", the omega asked excitedly, walking towards the artifact. However, Eve got in his way and growled at the omega, causing Humphrey to back away in fear.

"It's nothing you have to worry about Humphrey", Tony said, not wanting to give out any details on the artifact.

Since Lilly was also staring at the handle looking artifact in awe, it took her a while to notice Garth was next to his father. Her face lit up in the process. She immediately ran up to him and hugged his breath out.

"Garth! Your okay!", Lilly said happily, hugging the life out of the red and white Eastern wolf.

"Yea I… love…you…too", Garth choked out.

"Dad, was this the thing that nearly scared the entire pack", Kate asked pointing at the red glowing handle while Lilly and Garth were still hugging each other.

"And if it is that thing, why does it have to sound like a damn nuke? Can't it maybe be a little more subtle?", Humphrey added.

Winston didn't answer either question while shuffling his paws nervously. Instead, he gave Tony a look that told him to get Humphrey, Lilly and Kate out of here.

Tony separated the two lovebirds (Lilly and Garth). "Okay that's enough you two. I think it's time for you kids to leave", he said, putting emphasis into the word "kid".

Kate only glared at him venomously before replying back, "we're not kids. Besides, why does he get to stay?" she asked pointing at Garth.

"Just meet us outside, dear. We'll be done soon", Eve commanded.

"But…" Kate was about to say before she was cut off.

"Now, Kate", her father barked in, letting off a low warning growl.

Kate only glared at him before storming off. Lilly and Humphrey were close behind her.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Tony spoke up. "Let's go bury the artifact so the Northern and Southern Packs won't find it. I was thinking maybe the border could be a good burial site", Tony explained.

Winston nodded his head in agreement before grabbing the floating artifact with his mouth. The four wolves began to make their way outside the cave.

((((()))))

Kate angrily stormed out the underground passage with her blood boiling. Her father was starting to stab her in the back. First, he goes and plans a secret planned wedding without telling her, and now he's not even telling her about the secret area or that weird object. Lilly went over to comfort her.

"Kate it's alright. I think he's just trying to protect us", Lilly convinced.

"My ass!", Kate yelled out. This caused both Lilly and Humphrey to step back a bit.

"Think about it you guys. Didn't you see how evasive they were being when we asked them about that floating… whatever the hell it's called?", Kate reminded.

They all stood there for a few minutes of awkward silence before they noticed Kate's parent, Tony, and Garth walk out.

"We're gonna go bury this thing. You guys coming with us?" Winston asked.

Humphrey was about to make a polite reply, but his mate beat him to it (who was not so polite). "Of course we are. I still have a lot questions to be answered", Kate said in a demanding voice. Her parents looked at her with a confused look but shrugged it off.

Together the seven wolves made their way to a river that divided the Western and Eastern territories. Both packs referred to it as "the border". If the Northern and Southern Packs found out about the activation of the artifact, they will want their paws on it. For the sake of hundreds of lives on both the Western and Eastern sides, it must be buried and not found.

Kate had asked her father so many questions during their walk to the border (much to his annoyance). Things like, what that object was, when they found it, why they were burring it, what its purpose was, and so much more. Winston could only tell her so much before they got to the site. And of course, he didn't tell her everything, something Kate assumed when they got to the border.

Once they finally made it to the border, Tony commanded his son to start digging a hole. As much as Humphrey disliked Garth, he forced himself to help the red and white wolf dig the whole. Halfway through the digging process, Winston picked up a faint sound coming from the sky. It sounded like a distant jet flying.

"Tony, do you hear that?" Winston asked while perking up his ears.

"Man, my ears are barely working anymore. It's what happens when you get old", Tony replied back chuckling.

Winston however, was not joking around. The jet-like sound was getting closer and louder. Humphrey stopped digging and noticed Kate's father was looking around the sky. He tried to find what he was looking for until he saw it.

It was a small fiery ball slowly heading towards the ground. It looked almost like a meteor to him.

"Guys, look!", Humphrey shouted, pointing up at the meteor with his finger. Everyone looked up and saw the fiery ball plummeting towards the ground. It was getting closer and fast. Lilly then noticed where exactly it was headed. "Its gonna hit our territory!", she exclaimed.

"That thing will kill anyone within 100 meters", Eve said alarmed.

The meteor kept freefalling faster and faster towards the Western territory until finally…

The meteor slammed into the ground, making a loud explosion ring out throughout Jasper Park. The blast shook the ground somewhat while the trees all reacted to the blasts shockwave. As soon as his focus was regained, Winston spoke up.

"I'm going to make sure no one got hurt. You two come with me", he announced while pointing at Kate and Lilly to come with him. The three wolves scurried over to the crash site, with Eve not so far behind.

Once they were out of earshot Garth and Humphrey continued to dig the hole while Tony observed them. They got 30 more minutes of digging time before they all noticed something in the sky.

A dark purple sphere formed from the sky out of nowhere, with another meteor spawning from it. Once the meteor was ahead of the sphere of energy, it disappeared in thin air.

"What in the hell is going on?!" Garth asked.

"Oh Jesus- It's headed straight for us!", Tony noted. "MOVE! Behind that rock, NOW!". He yelled out to the two wolves. They immediately ran towards the rock to take cover from the blast. The increasing fiery whooshing sound only encouraged them to move faster.

Humphrey and Garth took cover behind the rocks. Tony was catching up until suddenly his back let out a loud crack sound.

"Arh!", he grunted.

Garth noticed his father had once again dislocated a disk in his spine. He got out of cover and went over to help him. He grabbed his foot with his teeth, only to cause him more pain.

"Ow ow ow!", he yelled in pain.

Humphrey went over to help the two wolves who were not making any progress. "Hit his back end as hard as you can", he demanded

"What!?", Garth said.

"Just do it!", Humphrey yelled out. The meteor was close to impacting the ground, and they were in the killzone.

Garth did what he was told and punched down on his father back end and relocated the disk. "C'mon", he said to his father. The two put their backs against the rock with Humphrey not far behind. But just as he was about to approach the safe cover, the omega turned around one last time only to see a giant fireball inch towards the ground in slow motion. For Humphrey, the world went deadly silent for a nano-second, before the meteor impacted against the ground. The impact caused a surge of concussive energy, flinging Humphrey several yards behind some tall bushes while Tony and Garth's ears were devastated by the extreme blast.

Once all the commotion was over, there was a load of dust all over the air. Humphrey took a while to get back up and make his way out of the bushes. He felt like he'd been run over by a train. He and two red and white wolves stepped out to find not a burnt rock as expected, but rather four dogs lying lifelessly in the ground.

"What in the hell", Garth said.

The trio gazed at the four dogs, not knowing what to do…

**Authors Note:**

**Here you have it folks; my latest chapter. Now I think in my opinion that this chapter isn't as good as the other three I posted. If you like it, great! If you don't, I understand. If anything doesn't makes sense to you, please let me know. I don't like leaving readers all confused, and I try to avoid that whenever I'm writing. Stay tuned for more content coming soon!**


	5. Chapter 5: Strange visitors

Jasper Park Canada Wednesday March 19, 2011 7:20am

Half an hour earlier before the second meteor impact, four wolves were running in the direction of the first crash site that the first meteor had landed in. Time was limited, and they had to make sure no one was hurt and if any structures were damaged or destroyed. The sun was also just starting to rise up.

Winston, Eve, and their two daughters were back at the populated area of the Western territory. Even from there the smell of smoke could be easily detected. Winston was old and his eyes were just starting to fail him, which would not help in finding the crash site.

"Kate, get ahead of me and find where that thing crashed. My eyes aren't what they use to be", he commanded.

Kate pushed herself forward until she took the lead. She saw a thick cloud of smoke rising towards the sky. She had to assume it was the meteor.

"I think we're getting close", Kate exclaimed.

Her father nodded and continued running. The wolves kept passing by dozens of local wolves who were frightened out of their minds. The four kept running until they finally reached a large crater. A den was badly damaged but it looked like whoever lived in it got out in time. Hutch, the pack's beta, was already next to the crater.

"Sir, you outta take a look at this", he said.

"I know I know it's just…" Winston was cut off by the beta.

"It's not a meteor sir. I think we got ourselves some dogs from space", Hutch explained, much to Lilly's and Kate's giggling.

Winston stepped up to get a better look. Indeed there were four dogs lying motionless in the middle of the crater. They did not look like they were wolves. In fact, only one looked more wolf than the other three.

"How…is…that possible?", Winston muttered in pure shock and amazement.

"I have no idea sir. But I think we need some answers right now. We should wake them up", Hutch suggested.

Winston nodded his head in agreement. Meanwhile Kate and her little sister could not believe their eyes. Canines falling from space. It sounded like something you'd here off of a movie. But it actually happened right before their eyes.

_This may have some connection to the relic, _Winston thought.

Eve went over to grab a small wooden bucket full of water before splashing it all over the scruffy brown dog. Almost instantly the dog awoke startled by the sudden feeling of cold water going through his body.

((((()))))

Balto woke up suddenly at the feeling of cold water being splashed all over him. At first he thought it was Boris waking him up again at the trawler, but then he realized he wasn't even on wooden ground. What startled him even more were five wolves all looking at him. Some were shocked and others were suspicious. He heard the light tan wolf speak.

"I think now's the time to…you know", she muttered to the old looking grey wolf.

The elder wolf, followed by what looked like his servant, stepped up to him. This caused Balto to step back in fear. He heard the grey wolf speak up in a gruff voice.

"Who are you stranger? And how did you survive a fall like that?", he questioned.

Balto quickly realized that this guy was the alpha of whatever pack he stumbled upon. He spoke up a few seconds after. "Th…the names B-Balto", he stuttered. "What…do you mean by surviving a fall?", he asked nervously.

The younger black and white wolf spoke up, "Dude, you literally fell from space. How the hell did you end up there? Are you like…an alien or something?", the young wolf (Hutch) asked.

Balto couldn't tell if he was joking or not. He decided to play it safe and answer his question.

"Look. All I remember was an earthquake happening during my sledding run. I'm a sled dog by the way. Then this massive ball thing made of some sort of dark energy swallowed me up and then here I am", Balto explained, although he was uncertain if the wolves in front of him would believe such a crazy story.

Kate was astonished at what she was hearing while Lilly was on the brink of fainting due to all the crazy things happening in one day. She decided to step in on the harmless interrogation.

"Who are those other three pals of yours?", Kate asked kindly.

Seeing the kindness the younger dark tan she-wolf was giving him, he decided to calm down a bit. "These guys right here are other sled dogs. The golden one is Kaltag, the little ones Star, and the fat guy's name is Nikki", the hybrid explained.

_Who the hell is the idiot who gave the poor dears such horrible names_, Eve thought.

Winston looked back at Kate and Lilly, who were sitting down patiently. "Why don't you two go check on Tony for me", he said.

Kate hesitated at first, but she realized that she was not going to do much in this place. She eventually got up and headed to where Garth and Humphrey were burying the artifact. Lilly was not far behind her sister.

As soon as they left, Winston continued asking the new stranger some questions. But before he had time to say a word he noticed the golden dog starting to wake up.

Balto saw Kaltag shift his tail a bit, before he started to move around. He first opened one eye and surveyed the area. The first thing he saw were five wolves looking all at him. He immediately yelped in fear and tucked his tail in between his legs.

"Well that surly woke you up" Hutch said, a joking tone in his voice.

Kaltag's commotion had cause Nikki and Star to wake up, only for them to be startled as well. Star went over behind Kaltag as a dog shield, much to his annoyance.

"Guys it's alright. They're not here to hurt us", Balto explained. However, his friends still huddled together, locked up in fear. Being friends with a half-wolf was one thing, but they knew a full-blooded wolf was always hungry and would stop at nothing to kill their polar opposites as food.

"Yous saying you know these guys?", Nikki asked raising an eyebrow.

"Actually we just met", Balto replied back.

"Enough!", Winston shouted firmly, causing the three huskies to flinch. "I'm not done asking you questions yet, stranger. I want to know enough to even think about letting you go in one piece", Winston growled, his patience growing thin. Balto simply nodded, keeping his cool.

"Now, do you remember anything before that earthquake", he asked.

Balto was about to reply before Kaltag interrupted, "Uh actually Mr. Leader guy, I remember there being a powerful shockwave happening before the blast. It didn't affect us though", Kaltag explained, hoping to calm the alpha down.

Eve eyes widened. She leaned in over her mate's ears, "That's just like the incident we went through earlier today", she whispered.

Winston nodded in agreement, right before he heard his beta shout out a warning, "Winston! It's that sound again!", Hutch exclaimed.

Everyone looked up towards the sky to here a whooshing sound getting closer each passing second. Then, a similar meteor flew right past the group. Balto noticed the same exact purple sphere floating in the sky before disappearing in thin air. It went quiet for a few seconds before a loud rumble sound echoed all across the land, shaking the ground a bit.

"Another one!", Hutch noted.

"It went right towards the border!", Eve exclaimed.

Balto was shocked. Everything was happening so fast. It was really hard to believe they came crashing down to earth on fire and ended up in a whole new place. Balto ears perked up when he heard his friends talking to each other.

"This has to be some sort of dream. This can't be real", Kaltag exclaimed.

"And where are we anyway?", Star questioned.

"I don't know guys. But wherever we are.. It's not Nome", Balto said.

"Listen up. I'm going to take you to my den for now. It's not safe here. Until then, I will figure out what to do with you "dogs", Winston announced, putting empathies in the word dogs. Winston, along with his mate and Hutch, began to walk away from the stunned sled dogs. They still weren't sure if they should follow a wolf to their home, but when Balto started to follow the group, it gave the rest of the dog's courage to do the same.

((((()))))

_9 minutes earlier_

Kate and Lilly walked away from the crash site, where Hutch and their parents were still getting answers from the newly dubbed "dog aliens". Lilly was always one for making random names. They had made their way back to the more "urban" part of the territory, or what counts as urban in a wolf pack's territory. The wolves that were freaked out before were now on the brink of fainting.

After a few moments of silence, Lilly was the first to speak up, "So did dad give you the answers you were looking for when we were headed to the border?", she asked.

Kate snapped out of her trance when she heard her sister, "He told me some things, but it sounded like he was leaving out some details", Kate explained, remembering the conversation she had with her father a while back.

"Though here", Kate said.

They moved away from the urban area before they heard another jet-like sound emitting though the sky.

"Uh-oh. Not again", Lilly whispered in fear.

Like earlier, they saw another meteor in the distance headed straight for the earth. The massive flaming ball was getting closer to the two sisters at astonishing speeds. What Kate noticed that was odd was a giant purple sphere floating in the sky. Once the meteor got a good lead, the sphere suddenly warped itself to disappearance.

"Lilly, get under that rock", Kate commanded her little sister, pointing to a big brown rock inclined upwards.

The two scurried to the rock and laid under it for cover. They heard the meteor whiz by them. It sounded very close, and the two she-wolfs covered their face with their paws. Right after a few more seconds a loud explosion emitted at the impact of the meteor. The blast was loud enough to be heard for 50 miles.

Kate uncovered her face to see a bunch of dust and pebbles fly past them. She turned to check on the white wolf next to her, who was shaking in fear.

"It's okay Lilly. We're okay", she said, nuzzling her sister to comfort her. The two stepped out of the rock to see dust all over the place, obscuring their vision.

"Kate, I can't see a thing", Lilly exclaimed.

"That thing sounded like it landed close. If my hunch is correct, I think we just got more "alien" visitors", Kate explained, her head pointing in the direction where the border is.

"Ya know, they look pretty normal for aliens", Lilly commented.

Kate rolled her eyes until she remembered something. Earlier, Humphrey and Garth were ordered to bury the artifact near the border in case the Northern/Southern packs came to retrieve it. If the meteor landed near their position, Humphrey could be injured, or worse.

"Lilly, we have to check on Humphrey and Garth. I think they could've been hurt in a blast like that", Kate suggested.

Lilly stomach turned at the thought of her mate being severely injured by a meteor impact. The two began to run to the border, despite all the dust blocking their view.

((((()))))

Garth, Humphrey and Tony have just witnessed the most amazing sight they have ever seen. What they thought was a meteor was actually for dogs falling from the sky and unto the earth. None of them thought they have survived the fall, especially if they were on fire.

Humphrey ears perked up when he heard the bushes move from behind them. He spun around to see two familiar females approach him. He quickly realized it was no other than Kate and Lilly.

Kate quickly ran up to Humphrey and hugged him tightly as soon as she noticed him. Lilly did the same to her own mate.

"We thought you two were dead when that thing crashed. You're not hurt are you", she asked.

"Nah. Just some dirt on my fur but otherwise, I'm fine", Humphrey replied.

Lilly looked back at the impact crater and noticed a similar group of four dogs. They were still unconscious, and who wouldn't be after a fall like that?

"We've seen this type of incident a couple minutes ago. Remember the other meteor? Another group of dogs came from it", Kate announced.

Tony ears perked up, "So that's what these guys are? Some sort of extra terrestrials?", he questioned, puzzled.

Before anyone could answer they heard someone cough out in the background. The wolves turned around to see a red and white dog starting to stir around. No one knew if he was related to the other group of dogs that fell from the sky earlier.

"Look! He's waking up. You should probably help him", Garth suggested to his father.

He nodded and walked toward the coughing dog that was now beginning to open his eyes. He looked no older than a year and a half, a teenager in a canine's world.

"Hey kid, can you hear me?", Tony asked. The red and white husky only coughed twice more.

"Are you hurt? Just shake your head if your okay", said Tony.

The dog began to stand up one leg at a time. It looked like he was having a hard time keeping his balance. The stranger surveyed his surroundings cautiously before speaking, "Where am I?", he asked slowly.

"You're in our territory, dog. You landed right here in Jasper park", Tony explained.

The red dog cocked his head, "Jasper Park?", he asked puzzled, his head spinning in dizziness.

"You mind telling us who you and your friends are?", Tony asked.

The red and white husky pawed at the ground for a while before telling the group of wolves in front of him his name. "My name's Kodiak, but everyone calls me Kodi. The brown ones Kirby", he explained, pointing towards his unconscious friend. "The bigger one's Ralph and the smaller velvet dog next to him is Dusty", Kodi finished.

Tony nodded in approval before circling the husky, which wasn't helping the red and white dog calm down. He carefully examined the stranger for any signs of weapons or wounds. Once he finished, he faced him directly again.

"Where are you from?", the darker red and white alpha asked.

"Uh, Nome. Alaska", Kodi said. His comment caused Kate and Lilly's eyes to widen.

"These guys aren't waking up", Garth exclaimed. Kodi turned his head around to see a wolf with similar fur coloring like his gently shaking Ralph and Kirby. He went over to Dusty to do the same. To everyone's surprise the velvet husky started to stir at the touch of Garth's paw.

"Wait, this one's starting to wake up", Garth said. He quickly checked the husky whose brain was slowly coming online again. The red and white wolf gave a thumbs up to his father, signaling she was not injured.

"We'll take them to the den in the mean time", Tony announced. He turned to look at Kodi one more time, "You're coming with me. I need to know exactly what's going on around here", Tony ordered.

"Wait but…", Kodi stopped when the alpha gave him a warning glare. He noticed the younger red and white wolf, presumably the alphas son, dragging Ralph away from the scene. Tony did the same with Kirby. The two didn't even bother to wake up. Kodi then noticed his friend, Dusty, staring at him with a look of both fear and confusion on her face.

"Where…are we…Kodi?", she asked, her voice tired and soft and her eyes dull.

"It's a long story Dust. I'll tell you everything when we get to their den", Kodi explained before putting his paw on her back and helping her walk towards the group of wolves.

_Whatever is going on, I hope I can get home in one piece, _Kodi thought.


	6. Chapter 6: New lifestyle

Jasper Park Canada Wednesday March 19, 2011 9:30am

After the second meteor impact, Balto and his team were escorted to the Western Pack's alpha's den for the time being. He had never been more confused in his life. First he was on a practice run for the big race, next thing he knew, some sort of evil sphere swallowed him and his friends to a whole new world. Balto had never dealt with wolves this closely before, but he knew some important things about wolves and wolf packs.

Everyone kept quiet, not saying a word to their escort or to one another. There really wasn't much to say at a time like this. Star kept on shaking in fear and it took Kaltag several times to calm the small husky down. They passed by some other wolves who stared at the four dogs. Some looked confused, others looked scared for whatever reason, and others just ignored them.

"Through here", Winston said.

Balto and his friends obeyed and started climbing some rocks that looked like it led to the alpha's den.

While walking closely to the wolf escort, a terrible thought popped in the wolf-dog's head. The strange blast that had caused them to be teleported here was a rather large blast. What if Jenna was caught in the crossfire? What if she also was in this very same world that Balto was in? And she wasn't the only one. His son, Kodiak, must've got teleported here as well. Before he had any more time to worry, he realized that they were at the den they would be entering.

Winston turned to Hutch who was standing next to the four strangers. "Hutch, go back and check on the other wolves. If any of them are injured, bring them here", Winston commanded.

Hutch nodded before running off into the distance. Balto looked at the grey alpha, waiting for his own command.

"You four go inside, me and my mate still have some questions for you", Winston explained to Balto.

Balto slowly padded up inside the dark miniature cave-like structure and sat down. His teammates sat down next to him soon after. Winston and Eve sat down and faced the four dogs. Winston cleared his throat before speaking.

"It's not every day we get dog visitors in our pack Balto. Especially in the way you showed up; falling down from space like if you were an asteroid", Winston began. "Now we saw another one crash not far from where we were. It could be possible that the other meteor was actually more of your friends", Winston continued.

Balto just sat there listening to the alpha while his friends were still trying to comprehend what the hell was happening.

"Is there anything you need to tell us?", Winston asked.

Balto was about to come up with a reply if he hadn't been interrupted, "Are you gonna eat us?", Star blurted out.

In response the light tan wolf chuckled lightly. "Don't worry, dear. You haven't posed a threat to us, so why should we?", Eve said. Her response caused Star to calm down more than his other friends attempts. After a few seconds of silence, Balto finally spoke up.

"You said there was another meteor shortly after I landed here right? I think that's my mate. I'm pretty sure that was her that crashed near us", Balto explained, still worried about Jenna.

"Uh Balto, I don't know if that's possible. She was all the way back in town, and I'm not sure if that blast had that much range", Kaltag explained.

"What's even more strange is that the musher never teleported with us", Nikki noted

Winston put his paw up to signal the dogs to stop their conversation. "Are you sure there isn't anything else you remember?" he asked.

Balto just shook his head in reply. Winston sighed calmly but in reality, he was frustrated. He was hoping to learn more, like if this wolf-dog had a connection with the artifact that was being buried. He looked back up at the group of dogs.

"Okay. I don't usually do this but I'm going to allow you to stay here until we find a way to bring you back to your own place. For now, find yourselves a den. You are omegas now", Winston said before walking away from the group, with Eve closely behind him.

As soon as they were out of sight everyone breathed a sigh of relief. At least they wouldn't end up dinner tonight. Balto stood up and turned to face the three huskies in front of him.

"I have to find Jenna guys. And my son", Balto said.

His friends looked at each other for a moment. "Well uh, I think we should slow down champ. We need to adapt to this new lifestyle, well excluding you", Kaltag reasoned.

"No. I have to make sure they're all right. Or at the very least, find a way to contact them", Balto replied stubbornly.

Balto heard Nikki scoff, "Yous do realize we's have no way of contacting your mate or your son", Nikki retorted.

"He's got a point. It's not like the humans have created any new tech now a days", Kaltag replied.

Balto just stood there with his head hung low in both worry and frustration. After a few more moments of silence he sighed before speaking again," Okay. You three adapt to this new lifestyle, because I don't think we'll be headed home any time soon. I'll see what the wolves here know", Balto said before walking away from the three huskies.

So far it had been a crazy day for the three sled dogs. They would have never thought they'd end up in another part of the world. Eventually, one by one they got up and exited the den to begin their new lives.

((((()))))

Jasper Park Canada Wednesday March 19, 2011 10:00am

Kodi was sitting patiently inside what looked like the Eastern Packs Alpha's den. It was pretty big for one wolf, but that was probably because of his rank. Dusty was in front of him but never made eye contact with the red and white husky. Ralph and Kirby, well, they were still fast asleep.

Earlier upon being escorted to the den Kodi noticed some strange things he had never seen before. First of all, the path leading to the alpha's den was heavily guarded by wolves from all sides and angles. They had some sort of rifles on their backs (AKs) that Kodi had never seen before. He'd seen a human hunting rifle which was nothing but a wooden stick with a metal barrel in front of it, but these looked more advanced. They also had some square shaped devices that emitted other wolf's voices from where ever they were. Kodi assumed it was some sort of communication device (radio).

Garth had gone back to inform the other wolves of Kodi's presence, which did not help him feel better. The two young she-wolfs and the grey wolf (Lilly, Humphrey, and Kate) went back to their territory to do who-knows-what. They didn't seem to have a look of hatred as he expected, but they also weren't fond of having dogs falling from space unto their territory.

He looked back at Dusty who was still looking out into the distance. She didn't look happy, and Kodi knew exactly why. He had chosen to ignore her warning when he caused that "thing" to react suspiciously. Now, they ended up being transported to Canada, and worse, a wolf pack. Worst of all, this wasn't the first time he hadn't listened to Dusty. When Kodi decided to go after his father who was searching for the crashed bushplane, the female husky had insisted it would be too dangerous, and that it was treason to help "the enemy". Kodi ignored her and went after the pilot anyways, forcing his team to come with him.

Kodi decided he should apologize before things got any uglier.

"Uh…Dusty? Listen I know I…"

"Shut up", Dusty muttered harshly, not even looking back at Kodi. She obviously wasn't in the mood, and Kodi knew better than to provoke her any further. He whimpered sadly before lying down on the cold, hard ground to relax a bit.

After 20 minutes, Kodi heard someone cough next to him. The husky got up and turned around to see Ralph beginning to gain consciousness after hours of sleep. The chubby dog opened his eyes slowly, the world hazy around him. It took a moment for the world to come back to focus.

"Uh…oh my head", he murmured. He looked up to see Kodi staring at him in relief.

"It's about time you woke up", Kodi replied jokingly.

Ralph looked around to notice Kirby still lying motionless on the ground. "What happened? And where the hell are we?", he asked.

At this Kodi blushed a little before speaking up, "It's a long story. Let's just say, that ancient object we found earlier, probably caused us to teleport to Canada. And now were stuck with a wolf pack", Kodi explained. Ralph just stood there, even more confused. "You're kidding…right?", he said in disbelief.

Kodi shook his head in reply. "I don't know if that warp blast thing had an effect on anyone else", Kodi added.

'Wait, you said were in a wolf pack. What if they eat us!?", Ralph panicked.

"don't worry. They seem friendly enough, but just keep your guard on just in case", Kodi replied.

Ralph nodded and went over to check on Kirby. Then he did what he loved doing best to a dog like Kirby: rudely wake him up.

Ralph slowly crept close to him until his face was directly in his ear. Once he was ready, he yelled right at his ear drum.

"HAR!", Ralph yelled out. The smaller brown dog gave in and yelped in shock before stumbling backwards and hitting his head against the den's walls. He was awake for sure, but was panting hard from fear. Ralph was too busy laughing his tail off to notice the look of extreme anger on Kirby's face.

"Ha ha ha! Oh my freaking god you should have seen the look on your-", Ralph was cut off when he felt a paw slam into the side of his face.

"That isn't funny, asshole!", Kirby yelled out angrily.

Ralph got back up, rubbing his cheek. "Okay Jesus, calm down", Ralph grumbled.

Kodi couldn't help but smile that his friends were back. Dusty on the other hand, just shook her head and lied down.

The four huskies ears perked up at the sound of pawsteps headed straight for them.

"Uh, don't be freaked out if you see a wolf coming out of the shadows "Kodi said.

"Why?", Kirby asked, while Ralph had a knowing look.

"You're about to find out", Kodi replied, before he noticed the same old looking wolf enter the den. Two other wolves, presumably body guards, were closely behind him. They had AKS-74u's in their paws and wore neutral expressions on their face.

"Good afternoon you two. I see you've woken up from your slumber there. And I also assume you have no idea what's going on", Tony began.

Meanwhile Ralph and Kirby were slightly shaking in fear at the very sight of the alpha wolf and his bodyguards. They have heard many horrifying stories of what wolves do to intruders, especially dogs. They regained their focus at the sound of the alpha's voice.

"We are so dead", Kirby muttered.

"No need to be scared. I'm not here to harm you, but I do demand some answers", Tony explained slowly, keeping his voice low as to not frighten his new visitors.

Kodi took one step forward, "I don't think you would believe us if we told you sir. Our story is pretty bizarre", Kodi warned. The red furred wolf smirked. "Try me", he replied simply.

Kodi nodded his head. He slowly collected his breath before beginning his story. "Well, I wanted to show my friends here a very cool looking object I saw a couple of days earlier. I took them inside a cave and there were these pieces of metal floating in mid-air", Kodi began.

Kodi noticed out of the corner of his eye that one of Tony's guards had begun to take notes based on what he was saying. "We took a closer look at it and then I noticed a paw print engraved on this rock that was probably keeping the metal pieces floating around. So I put my paw on it and the whole thing lit up", the red furred husky explained.

"The pieces then began to assemble themselves and it looked like a handle thing. Something you'd find off a sword", Kodi continued. He noticed the alpha's face become interested and suspicious at once.

"Umm and then I grabbed it and I saw some ancient writing all around it. There was a button hidden in the décor. I pressed it and it began to glow red and shake around. Me and my friends started to run from it until a wave of energy shot through the cave. It didn't affect us"

"And then?", Tony asked.

"And then an earthquake appeared out of nowhere and we had to bail out. We managed to exit the cave until we all saw a massive ball of some sort of dark energy closing in on us. Next thing we know, we are in your territory", Kodi finished, who was still trembling at the bizarre thought.

Tony looked back at his guards who handed him the notes they took. He murmured something under his breath but the four huskies could not interpret what it was. He finally handed the notes back to the armed wolf next to him and motioned him out the den. The two wolves bowed before exiting the den, leaving only Kodi and his friends, and Tony.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?", the alpha spoke in a low voice that almost sounded menacing. Kodi gulped, "Um, no sir. Is there something wrong?".

Tony face palmed himself before answering the huskies question, "I'm gonna try and say this as quickly as I can", Tony grumbled.

"Let's just say, that thing you found and activated, caused our own object to turn on as well. See we have one of those handle things as well, and when you activated your own artifact, it caused ours to do the same. Now there is a pack not far from here that knows about this object, but they don't know how it works. I'm the only wolf in both the Western and Eastern packs that knows everything about this object down to the last detail. The leader of that pack I mentioned will do anything to get his paws on the artifact".

"What does that have to do with…", Kodi began.

"I'm getting to that", Tony cut in,

"Now all those weird things that happened right when you pressed that button, happened here as well. Except for that "ball of dark energy" part. I guess that was replaced by your arrival. The leader of that wolf pack I mentioned wants one thing in this world. Domination of the four packs of Jasper. That pack likes to scout the land of Jasper using advanced planes. If those planes caught any footage of everything the artifact did, they'll be at our doorstep to take it from us in no time. This could mean war for our own packs", Tony finished.

Kodi stood there trying to comprehend the amount of information he had just heard. If he had a penny for every time things would get weirder…

"So you're saying you have a clone of this device.. and we caused a war to go along with it because..?" Kodi posed

"Because our clone activates when its own clone activates…or vice versa. And I guess my hunch was right: this artifact acts like some sort of teleportation device, which would make sense considering a teleporter needs two links", Tony explained.

"So what now?", Kodi asked nervously.

"Now I gotta prepare my pack in case the southern/northern pack wants to fight for the artifact. Their leader is evil, and I can't imagine what he would do with a device like that", Tony commented.

Tony took one last breath before giving his new visitors their first orders, "you guys either better find yourselves a den, or home, or wait towards our feeding grounds. The place where we eat. In our world, visitors like you are referred to as "omegas", Tony said.

Kodi opened his mouth to say something but was cut off, "Don't ask. You'll find out what an omega is eventually", Tony exclaimed before walking off.

Kodi just stood there more confused than when he found that object in the first place. He remembered his father teaching him about wolf culture. He remembered his saying that omegas were a type of rank in a wolf pack, the lowest, to be precise.

Suddenly Kodi gasped at the thought of his father. If he and his friends were teleported to Canada, doesn't that mean he came along too? Kodi had to think of something fast. He could try and look for him now, but he barely knew the territory. It took him several minutes to come up with a solution. He would search for him first thing tomorrow morning, and use what time is left to adapt to the new culture and environment.

It had been too silent ever since the red furred wolf left his own den, causing Ralph to break it, "I have never been more confused in my life", the grey chubby husky said.

Kodi turned to the two chubby sled dogs, "Well, we should probably start adapting to this new lifestyle. As far as I know, a wolfs life is not as easy as ours", Kodi suggested.

"Okay. Well I heard that leader dude say something about feeding grounds", Kirby noted.

"Yea, and this must be dinner time for wolves. Pretty early if you ask me", Ralph added.

_Of course they would be thinking about food, _Kodi thought.

"Well I'm going to go see what they have in store for us", Kirby said, before running off to the feeding grounds. Ralph was closely behind him, leaving only Kodi and a pissed off Dusty.

Kodi decided to give her some time. He tasked himself into finding a den that can fit four dogs.

((((()))))

Jasper Park Canada Wednesday March 19 2011 4:00pm

It had been a while since Balto had his conversation with this "Winston" wolf. His pals had decided to go eat anything edible for a dog. Boy were they in for a surprise.

Balto couldn't get the thought of Jenna being lost somewhere in this new place out of his head. She could be captured by some predators, or possibly be starving to death, or worse.

The wolf-dog realized that panicking would not help. He had to talk to some of the local wolves to see if they seen her or his son. He began to walk around the territory looking for any of the locals. He tried to sniff the ground and the air to find any familiar scents, but there were so many it was impossible to tell who was who. He was too worried to eat, so he would be saving that for later.

Balto kept looking in all directions before bumping into someone.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there", the hybrid quickly apologized.

Balto then noticed the wolf he bumped into was the same young tan looking wolf that Winston had commanded to leave the scene earlier.

"Hey, aren't you that guy that fell from the sky a while ago?", the she-wolf asked.

Balto blushed slightly before answering, "Uh yea. Say your Winston's daughter, right?", the wolf-dog questioned.

"Yea, that was me. The names Kate. And this is my sister, Lilly", she said before pointing her paw towards the white wolf behind her. She waved her paw slightly.

"She can be shy sometimes", Kate explained.

Balto noticed that this wolf seemed nice and meant no harm. He would have expected the female to be neutral or cautious, but she seemed comfortable to his presence. "Listen Kate, I know I just got here and all but I need your help with something", Balto requested.

"Sure, what do you need?", Kate asked.

"I need some way of communicating with my mate. She's a red and white husky and she wears a red bandana around her neck. I think she got caught in this mess too, if you know what I mean", Balto said.

"Well I do remember seeing another meteor land next to Tony's territory. But judging from your explanation of your mate, none of the dogs that crashed there were her. Does she recognize your howl?", Kate asked.

"I think so. Why?", Balto questioned.

"In a wolfs world, whenever someone is lost, we usually howl and wait for a response", Kate explained.

"Oh, but my mate can't howl. She's a full blooded dog", Balto reasoned.

Kate nodded, understanding. "Well, I guess you can use telephone I guess. My father has one of those up on his den. Just don't ask how he found it", Kate suggested. She looked out towards the feeding grounds. There were some wolves already digging in at the dead caribous lying on the ground. "Well I got to go, Balto. Nice meeting you", Kate said before walking off with her sister.

Balto thought about her suggestions for a moment. But so far, none of them seemed to help. _What the hell is a telephone anyway, _the wolf dog thought.

The hybrid decided to check up on his three friends and see where they were. He sniffed around for them until he caught Nikki's scent. He assumed he was with Star and Kaltag. He followed them until it lead towards a dead caribou lying on the ground. Behind it were the three sled dogs. They looked at the animal in disgust.

"Hey uh… what's wrong?", Balto asked, confused.

"They eat these things raw", Kaltag said slowly, without even looking at the hybrid next to him.

In return, Balto couldn't help but let out a laugh. He expected this type of reaction from his friends. "Yea, did I forget to mention that we wolves are carnivores? You got no other choice guys unless you want to eat berries off of a bush", Balto chuckled.

"Yous have to be joking, right?" Nikki said in disbelief.

Balto shook his head in response. He walked to the other side of the caribou, "Just bite down and think of something else", Balto said before opening his jaws and slicing through the animal's skin and flesh and ripping it out. He began to chew on it, not minding the new flavor. He had never eaten a dead animal before. It was probably his wolf side that was making his body enjoyed the meaty flavor.

Meanwhile Kaltag and Nikki had looks of disgust on their faces while Star threw up all over the floor. Once Balto had finish his first bite, he licked his bloody lips clean, but his face was still tainted with the red liquid.

"Go on, try it", the wolf-dog urged.

"Dude, we aren't half wolf. We eat that and we'll probably get some sort of disease or something", Star reasoned.

Balto shrugged his shoulders before walking away. "Your choice!", he shouted.

Now that that ordeal was over, he needed to cross one other thing on his "list". If they were going to be a part of this pack, he would have to find a den, and a big one too. Balto may have grown up with dogs and humans, but he still had knowledge of wolf culture and society. For once, he was glad he was part-wolf.

The sun was starting to set so he didn't have much time. Every time he would come across an empty den, he had to sniff it out to make sure it was not taken. So far all the dens he had run into were occupied. Some were small so he didn't even have to sniff them since he knew four dogs wouldn't fit.

After an hour later he had finally found a den that didn't look like it had been taken. The only problem was that it was too small for four dogs. It looked like it could fit up to three, tops. It was hidden fairly well so he wouldn't have to worry about any trespassers. He saw a nearby tree and scratched some of the barking off of it. A trick he learned so he wouldn't forget this location. He had used this technique before back when the epidemic in Alaska was taking place.

Time flew by fast for the wolf-dog. He was mostly asking every resident for any signs of a red furred female dog. Unfortunately, nobody knew where his mate was. He decided to call it a day and started to look for Kaltag, Nikki, and Star. 15 minutes later he ended up running into the three sled dogs. They looked cheerier than last time when they had to eat an animal that had been killed moments ago.

"Where the hell were you?", Kaltag asked, annoyed.

"I've been trying to find out if any of the locals knew where Jenna was", Balto replied. He cocked his head when he noticed all three huskies had some blue stuff all over their faces. "Uh, what's up with your faces guys?", Balto asked.

"Oh well, we found out that we had other options when it came to dinner time, and we found these bushes full of berries. They were pretty good", Kaltag exclaimed.

"The only odd part was that we aren't going to be the only vegetarians in this pack", Star added.

"You mean there are vegetarian wolves here?", Balto asked in disbelief. The three dogs nodded in return. The sun was almost finished setting and it was already hard to see clearly.

"Listen. I found us a place we can call home for now. The only problem is that I don't think all of us can fit inside, meaning only three of us will be able to sleep inside, tops", the hybrid explained.

"So where is it?", Nikki asked.

Balto in return signaled them to follow him. They began to walk towards the den that was partially concealed under the darkness. They passed a small stream and a couple of fallen trees before reaching their new home.

Upon arriving the sled dogs seemed to inspect it for a while. Balto just sat there waiting for their response.

"It's not bad. Now all we have to do is decide who is sleeping out in the cold", Kaltag said, grinning.

"I'll be the one who will sleep outside, don't ask why, I'm used to it", Balto cut in.

The three huskies looked at him with unreadable expressions on their faces. They were grateful for Balto's little sacrifice, but at the same time, they felt sorry. Eventually, Kaltag spoke up.

"If that's what you want man, go right ahead", Kaltag said.

Balto only nodded his head before walking away from his three pals. He hadn't eaten anything for a while now, not that he had been hungry. His worry for his mate had caused him to feel that way. He decided he would sleep beside the den. He ended up lying on the cold ground, still thinking about Jenna. His eyes began to feel heavy, and he slowly started closing them. One last thought crossed his mind before getting some much needed rest.

_Stay safe my love. I won't rest till I find you. _

((((()))))

Jasper Park Canada Wednesday March 19 2011 3:00pm

Kodi had decided to follow Ralph and Kirby to the feeding grounds after Tony's little "lecture". He felt like he should have tried and apologize to Dusty, but she looked like she could rip someone's head off the second they get near her. He had known Dusty for some time, and if there was one thing that he knew about Dusty, it's that to leave her alone if you pissed her off.

Kodi wasn't too fond of what was to come for dinner. He knew wolves ate the animals they killed. And the worst part was that they ate the meat raw. On the plus side, he couldn't wait to see Ralphs and Kirby's reaction.

The three dogs made it to the feeding grounds, but to Ralph's and Kirby's disappointment, there wasn't anything to eat.

"Where's the food at?", Kirby asked.

"I think they're still on the hunt", Kodi replied.

The two chubby dogs sighed in frustration. The three of them chatted for a while, mostly about the chain of events that have happened in the past few hours. Kodi noticed that he got a bunch of weird stares from the locals, probably because they weren't use to having a dog as their new member.

Half an hour later he noticed a familiar wolf dragging a large animal full of wounds and blood. He and another wolf set the animal down before glancing at Kodi. It was the same red furred wolf that woke up Dusty while she was unconscious. The young wolf began to approach the three huskies.

"Hey there. You're the newbie's who fell from the sky", the wolf greeted.

Kodi blushed at his statement, but it was hard to tell because of his red fur. "Uh, yea. That's us", Kodi replied, not sure of the wolfs intentions.

"Names Garth", the wolf said before extending his arm towards Kodi. Meanwhile Kodi hesitated at first, but decided to shake the wolfs paw. Ralph and Kirby did the same, although it was hard to tell if they were scared of the wolfs presence or not.

"I gotta tell you, I'm probably the only friends you got", Garth noted. "See a lot of us here never really dealt with dogs before, maybe once or twice. And well, just don't be surprised if one of our own decides to be a bitch with you", Garth said.

"Glad to hear that, Garth. I was really expecting to have my head ripped off at any moment", Kodi commented, a joking edge to his voice.

"Um… I don't mean to be rude but do we have to eat that thing raw?", Ralph asked.

Garth chuckled in response before speaking "well as far as I know, it's dangerous for a dog to eat any animal raw like that. So I took the liberty of making a small fire for you guys", Garth explained, glancing at a bonfire not far from the group.

"Well, believe it or not, I'm actually a quarter wolf", Kodi explained.

"Really? Well then maybe I can teach you how to eat like a wolf without having to worry about you dying on us", Garth suggested, lighting the mood. He looked back at Ralph and Kirby. "There is one rule in every pack. Since my father, AKA the alpha of the Eastern pack, decided to appoint you omegas, you'll have to be the last ones to eat. It's the lowest rank of the pack" Garth explained.

The two chubby huskies were disappointed after hearing the packs regulations. They were hoping they can get their paws on some grubs ASAP. Garth then took a step forward to Kodi. "I'll make you an exception though, only because you've never ate a dead animal without it being cooked", Garth said.

The red furred wolf began to walk away from the three dogs. He signaled Kodi to follow him. Getting the message, Kodi got up and padded towards the young wolf. Ralph and Kirby were left alone.

"Well, this sucks. I'm already hungry as it is", Ralph exclaimed.

"Yea but let's not get on these wolfs bad side, bro. You heard what he said", Kirby suggested. Ralph nodded his head in agreement, still worried of the outcome of this unfortunate incident.

((((()))))

Kodi never thought he'd meet a wolf pack, usually because of his overprotective mother. He was always prohibited not to enter any woods when he was a pup. Now he was about to embrace his wolf side like never before, starting with how to eat raw meat out of an animal that had just been killed.

"Okay. I don't think my father's looking right now so I'll make this quick", Garth said. He took one last look at the dead caribou before glancing back at the red furred husky on the other side of the dead animal.

"First off, don't think about the actual food you're eating. Try to imagine something else you would prefer. When you're ready, take a small bite. You'll have to get gruesome and rip the pieces out. So I hope you don't mind a little blood on your face", the aqua eyed wolf said.

Kodi sighed heavily, "Okay", he said slowly. The husky closed his eyes and tried to imagine the caribou was something else, doing exactly what he was told. Then, as quick as a flash, he dug his teeth in (including his canines) and bit down on the fur of the animal. Kodi then yanked back the skin and tore off a rather large piece of meat from the caribou.

"Not bad. Now you have to chew that thing or you'll choke to death", Garth instructed.

Kodi did just that and slowly began chewing the bloody piece of meat. He squinted his eyes at the taste, not getting use to it at all.

"Keep going. You're almost done", Garth encouraged.

The red and white husky kept chewing and chewing until he swallowed the whole thing. He shook his head, still not use to eating a dead animal. "Do I keep going?", Kodi asked.

Garth nodded in reply. Kodi did the same process three more times; digging his teeth into the caribou and then yanking a portion of meat, followed by a ton of blood. He would keep gagging or squinting his eyes, not liking the flavor of blood all over his tongue.

Kodi then began to notice something. His forth mouthful of caribou was different from his first three. He suddenly felt an urge to continue eating the raw meat, and the taste of blood wasn't bothering him. What stood out the most though, was that he was getting more aggressive with each mouth full, all while beginning to enjoy the flavor of the animal inside his mouth.

Garth was surprised at how quickly Kodi gave in into the food. He witnessed him go from shy and not so sure about eating the caribou, to him wanting more every second and not even caring about the mess he was making.

"Well, if you don't mind, I think I'll finish this for you", Garth commented.

Kodi looked up at him with a small piece of meat hanging in his mouth. His face was covered in thick blood, but he hardly noticed. "You mean I'm done here. I don't get any more", Kodi mumbled, his voice muffled by the meat in his mouth.

"Well if you want more just wait till everyone else is finished", Garth replied while Kodi swallowed the meat without hesitation. He nodded his head and began to walk away. He turned around one last time to face the red furred wolf, "thanks again for helping me adapt to that", Kodi shouted.

"No problem. I'll see you soon", Garth responded back.

Kodi then walked away from the feeding grounds and headed towards the area where all the dens were (though he didn't actually know he was going there). He had one less thing to worry about in his "to-do list". Next was to find a place he and his friends can call home, followed closely by cutting the tension between him and Dusty.

At the thought of his pissed off female friend, Kodi began to wonder why he was so concerned about the velvet grey husky. This little conflict with her was an exception, but ever since he became lead dog on his mail sledding team, he would always make it a priority to check on Dusty whenever she was in conflict with someone or something. They had become even closer friends than Ralph and Kirby combined. Was there something more to their relationship?

_Nah. Your head isn't working properly after all that's happened today, _Kodi thought to himself.

Kodi walked around what he liked to call the "residential area", mostly because that was where most of the dens were located in the Eastern pack. He figured he should start looking for his own there.

_But how will I know if ones not taken? _He asked himself.

He began to look for any suitable den, or a small cave like structure that can hold up to four dogs. Every time he would search one, he would look for any signs of an owner. Paw print, scent, fur. It was almost like playing detective, only this wasn't a crime scene.

Kodi traveled farther into the outskirts away from most of the locals. It was harder to find a den in these parts, but they were bigger, but also taken none-of-the-less.

Two exhausting hours later, right when the sun was beginning to set, he had finally found what he was looking for. It was a very roomy den far from the more populated section, and it was close to a river (which in reality was the border between the Western and Eastern packs). The brown walls looked like they haven't been touched by anyone, so the husky claimed it for himself.

As if on cue, Kodi saw two familiar dogs show up out of nowhere. "Kodi! There you are, brother. Thought we lost you. We were trying to find where you went after dinner", Ralph explained.

"I gotta hand it to these wolves. Cooked caribou is better than any brand of dog food you can buy at the general store" Kirby added, chuckling.

Kodi smiled. "Glad to see you two are in a better mood", Kodi replied.

"Hey, you know what's going on with Dust? She's been acting kinda strange ever since we got here", Ralph asked, worried.

Kodi quickly realized what his friend was getting at. He was hoping they wouldn't notice. But then again, Ralph and Kirby have proven to be sharper than they really are. "Uh, it's probably all these weird things happening at once", he lied.

The two chubby huskies looked at each other. They shrugged their shoulders. "So…I'm guessing you found us a den, eh?", Kirby said.

"Yea, I was actually about to tell you that", Kodi replied. "Say when was the last time you seen Dusty?", the red furred husky questioned.

"Last time we saw her eating some berries off of a bush somewhere. I didn't even know she liked them", Ralph answered.

"Oh, now that you're here, that alpha dude wanted to speak with you. He said it's important", Kirby explained.

"Garth's father", Kodi muttered to himself. "I'll go talk to him" he said, before running off into the distance, leaving Ralph and Kirby to inspect their new home.

((((()))))

Kodi ran through the woods and back to the more populated area. There was just as much commotion as there was when he first got to the place. He looked around for any signs of a dark red and white elderly wolf, but he couldn't find him to any avail. He turned to face a random grey wolf with two clumps of fur on his head facing away from each other.

"Hey, have you seen Tony around", Kodi asked the stranger.

The wolf pointed behind him and unto some nearby bushes. Kodi spun around to see Tony partially hidden between the bushes. He had a serious expression on his face, which was making the husky nervous. He cautiously approached the alpha before speaking up.

"You.. Wanted to speak with me, sir?", Kodi asked in his most polite voice he could sustain.

The wolf nodded his head and signaled him to follow. Kodi complied but wasn't sure where this was going. For all he knew the alpha could turn hostile at any moment. Kodi slowly unsheathed his claws just in case things went south.

They continued to walk towards the mass of bushes until they finally arrived in a meadow. What little light was left from the sunset was enough to see Tony's expression on his face, which was still serious. The wolf breathed before speaking.

"Half an hour ago, Winston, the alpha of the Western pack and my good old pal, just contacted me saying that his own set of visitors might have a connection with you and your friends", Tony began.

"You mean we're not the only ones?", Kodi interrupted.

"No, but I could have sworn I covered that earlier", Tony replied flatly. "Do you know anyone by the name of Balto", Tony asked.

As soon as he heard that name, Kodi felt like he'd been hit by a wave of realization. He knew he wasn't the only one teleported to Canada. What's worse is that he dragged his father into this mess, all because of one futuristic looking artifact. At least he was part wolf.

Kodi snapped out of his trance and answered the alphas question, "Yes. That's my father. When did your buddy find out?", he asked frantically.

"About thirty minutes ago", he replied calmly. "You said that man was your father?", the alpha questioned.

"Yea. I have to go find him. I need to know he's alright. Can you take me to where he's at?", Kodi requested.

"All in due time. I think its best you get some rest. We can sear…"

"I can't just stand here and do nothing. I dragged him into this mess and I need to see if he's alright", Kodi demanded.

"Calm down. Winston told me that he was perfectly fine. He's adapting to this new lifestyle just like you. And here's the good part, he's part wolf", Tony said. "So that must mean you have some wolf blood in you, but that's hardly the point, is it?" he teased.

Kodi stood there, not knowing if waiting till tomorrow was a good idea. He was tired, but not tired enough to stop him from finding his own father. But then again, he didn't want to get on this guys bad side. "Fine. I'll sleep tonight. But I want to check on him to see if he really is alright", Kodi demanded.

"You think I'm lying?", Tony sneered.

At the response, Kodi locked up in fear. He thought he went over the limit. "Uh no..sir, uh, I mean..I just want to..you know..confirm what you're, uh, saying hehe", Kodi stuttered.

Tony stepped forward towards the red furred husky, causing Kodi to cringe a little. "Kodi. A wolf keeps his promise till his last breathe", the elderly wolf whispered in his ear.

Kodi backed up two steps before slowly nodding his head. Tony nodded back and looked up at the sky. "It's getting late, you best head back to whatever den you found…if you found one", he said before heading back to where they came from.

Kodi hesitated at first, but eventually made his way out of the meadow. Most wolfs were either telling each other stories, sleeping, or getting ready to sleep. He retraced his steps back to the den he found earlier. He assumed his friends were already there, snoozing off, so he decided to follow their scents as well. When he got there, his friends were, indeed, already sleeping. One thing that caught his attention though, was a certain light grey and velvet husky.

_Dusty _Kodi whispered to himself.

She looked much more peaceful than when she was awake. It even looked like she had a slight smile on her face. Kodi hoped she wasn't dreaming about kicking his ass which was making the female happy in her sleep. He decided to sleep away from the female husky and lay down near the back of the den. He wondered if his mother was also dragged into this whole new place. It was bad enough for his father to enter into a world he didn't know, but his mother had absolutely no survival smarts, something wolves are born with.

He shook the idea off, and closed his eyes. Before he knew it, there was no worry, no wolf pack, nothing but relaxation.

((((()))))

Somewhere in Canada, Wednesday March 19 2011 11:34 pm

Farther beyond the outskirts of the Western and Eastern packs, is a rundown building. It was owned by humans, but they abandoned it for whatever reason. It was mostly made out of rusting steel and the place was used for manufacturing hunting rifles and ammo, as well as hunting gear and clothing. Now it belonged to a very menacing pack…or packs (two to be precise)

Taking a look inside is a dark hallway with only one dim light to light it up. Most of the floor was littered with ripped up newspaper, cups and stains. Looking inside a room is a lone wolf sitting down in a corner. He had a cigar in his paw, but it was too dark to see any other features. Soon after, pawsteps were heard entering the darkened room. Another brown and white wolf entered the room.

"Sir, I have new Intel. You're gonna want to hear this", the brown wolf said. The other wolf, still concealed by the darkness, swayed his tail before commenting, "This better be good. What is it?", he demanded, his voice deep.

The brown wolf walked towards a computer and shook the mouse to disable the sleep mode on it. A camera feed was shown on the screen.

"At approximately 0700 hours ago, we sent one of our drones for a test flight. It ended up in the Western/Eastern pack's territory. Now heres where it gets interesting", the brown and white wolf explained. He clicked on a "play" button, showing the drones footage.

"See that right there? It's what we've been looking for. It looks like they're burying the device somewhere near a riverbed. It's the same device we have been studying for the past few months", the wolf continued.

"Now if I rewind it, you can see these two meteors come from that big sphere of energy. If my hunch is right, that device caused all that to happen", the brown wolf said.

"And?", the other wolf said flatly.

"Don't you get it? I think they tried to test that weapon. Sooner or later they'll end up dominating our own packs. Dominating you.", the brown wolf explained.

That was when the other wolf decided to come into the light, throwing the burned out cigar on the floor. The wolf had pure black and white fur and green eyes. He had a long scar going through his left eye, and at least three of his teeth were gone. His tail looked like it was bitten by a litter of pups 24/7.

He looked at the drone feed and saw the shockwave that tilted every tree the camera could bring up. He also saw the meteor shoot out from that big mystical sphere, also witnessing the impact and damage.

"If I can get my paws on that device, I'll have total domination of Canada", the wolf said to himself. He turned to the smaller brown wolf. "Tomorrow, I want you to rally our men. We're going to invade those packs. Start preparing everything and everyone", the black wolf commanded.

"As you wish, Blaze", replied the brown wolf, before scurrying off into the distance.

The black and white wolf stared at the doorway before sighing and turning off the computer. He scratched his head a few times, and then went back into his corner.

"You should have never touched that thing, Winston. Now you're in for one hell of a surprise", Blaze muttered silently, anxious for what could happen in the next few days.

**Author's**** Note:**

**Finally**** I'm done with this chapter. It's a lot longer than the previous ones I wrote but I hope you liked it. Also, if anyone is reading this and is starting to get bored, don't worry about that either. I got some action scenes coming up soon if that's what you like. I would also like to thank _The dark shadow _and _infernoblades99 _for posting their opinion on the book. Thanks a lot you two; that's helps me out a bunch. Tell me what you think of my first OC. Is he cool, stupid, badass, mysterious, or what not? Stay tuned for new chapter's!**


	7. Chapter 7: Conflicts

**Authors Note:**

**Hey guys and girls, I'm sorry i have taken longer than usual to post a new chapter. But as you know, thanksgiving was near and I had to do some traveling to celebrate it with my family. Plus I just got COD: Ghosts and BF4 during the black Friday sale and OMG are those to games freaking awesome. So that's what has been delaying me. Anyway's i hope you enjoy this chapter. Also, whenever you get the chance, post a review. It helps to know if i'm doing something right or wrong. Thanks and enjoy.**

Chapter 7: Conflicts

Jasper Park Canada Thursday March 20 2011 12:00am

Unaware that their worst nightmare had found out about their most secret possession, the Western and Eastern packs were pretty quiet and peaceful…for now. Residents from both sides weren't too fond of having dogs as part of their packs, even if it was temporary. The wolves always knew better to avoid dogs at all cost, since they have a connection with humans. And since humans are the most dangerous creatures on Earth (according to them), it only made more sense to worry about their new visitors.

Hutch and Can-do tried to complain to their leader that Balto and his three pals were not safe and could attract unwanted humans. However, Winston dismissed their statements, saying that it was not likely they would attract their worst enemy if they fell from the sky, which was something that was unheard of.

The artifact was buried so that the Northern/Southern pack wouldn't get their paws on it, yet everyone still felt insecure. Everyone had gone back to their normal routines, but they were still cautious of the dogs in their own territory. Kate and Lilly were drinking water in a nearby pond.

"Kate, can I ask you something?", the white wolf asked.

Her sister stopped drinking and turned to face her sister, eager to her question. "Yea sure. What is it?", she asked.

Lilly sat down before speaking up, "Well it's about those dogs we brought in. Do you think it's a good idea that dad let them live here?", Lilly questioned.

"What do you mean?", Kate asked, cocking her head.

"Kate, you and I both know that wolves in general have had bad experiences with dogs before. Hell, I heard a wolf pack near Alaska almost got into a war with them", Lilly explained.

"What are you getting at Lilly?", the tan she-wolf asked, still confused.

"I'm saying, I don't trust any of them, and that they should probably find themselves a human town or something", Lilly suggested.

Kate sighed in return. She was hoping her little sister wouldn't get involved in this affair. Her father was already holding a meeting of what to do with both the strangers and the device. "Lilly, the nearest town is at least 78 miles from this pack. They would never make it. And besides, they look friendly enough", Kate persuaded.

"That's what they want you to think. Next thing you know they'll get the humans on us again, and you'll end up somewhere father than Idaho", the white wolf argued.

Kate wiped her face with her paw in slight frustration. She looked up at the sky in deep thought. She looked back at her sister moments later "Listen. Dad's gonna have a meeting with the local Beta's and Delta's later today. We're gonna discuss those dogs future there, and since I'm going to be the future alpha of this pack, I'm required to go there. But right now you shouldn't be worrying about those things, Lilly", Kate said.

"But I do worry, Kate. I almost lost you before because you were kidnapped by those humans", Lilly replied in an innocent voice.

Kate smiled warmly before leaning towards her sister and nuzzling her. "Thanks, Lilly. That means a lot" Kate said.

Lilly nodded her head. Kate then began to walk away from the pond and to her father's den, leaving Lilly by herself. The white wolf looked around for anything to keep her distracted. Her ears perked up when she heard some bushed rustle. On closer inspection, she saw it was a turtle minding its own business. A mischievous idea popped into the wolfs head, and she began to chase the animal.

((((()))))

The sun was at its peak and the meeting was about to begin. Kate didn't want to be late to her first meeting, and she assumed it was an important one. It was customary for her to attend it since she would soon become the next alpha of the Western pack. To say she was nervous was perfectly normal.

Many of the local wolves were talking among themselves. She overheard one group say the word "dog", assuming that they were talking about Balto and his friends. She shook her head and continued towards her parents den, where the meeting would take place.

While walking to her destination, she noticed a familiar brown wolf-dog walking with one of his friends (Nikki). The hybrid noticed Kate and waved at her, smiling. She did the same but tried to walk away from them as fast as possible. She got some weird looks from the two canines, but ignored them otherwise.

Kate climbed her way onto the alpha's den. She breathed one last time before entering, expecting to see the other members invited. However, no one was there expect her parents, who noticed her come in seconds later.

"Kate! You made it, and just in time", her father joked. The she-wolf just rolled her eyes. "Couldn't afford to be late. Oh by the way, I have something to ask you", she said,

"What is it?", her father asked.

"Well you see, I think Lilly has been getting more involved in the packs affair lately, and she's not like that usually. She expressed her opinion about Balto and his pals", Kate explained.

"She must be maturing", Winston muttered to his mate.

"What did she say?", Eve asked.

Kate looked back for a second before answering, "She said she doesn't trust them, and that they will attract the humans to our location", Kate whispered.

Winston wrapped his paw around his chin in thought. "Well part of what we will discuss today is about them. We need to know if they really are worthy of becoming a member to our pack. Even if it's temporary the rules still apply", Winston explained.

"You mean they have to go though some test?", Kate questioned.

"The basic ones, yes", the alpha wolf answered.

Seconds later, the three wolves heard some pawsteps closing in towards them. Seven wolves appeared before the family, including Hutch and Can-do. The rest were three delta's and two betas (excluding Hutch and Can-do who were both beta's). Presumably the group was here for the meeting. Winston got up to greet the group.

"Thank you all for joining us", Winston greeted. The seven wolves all bowed their heads in return, a sign of respect shown from all wolves towards the alpha. Everyone took their seats, with Winston, Eve, and Kate being in front of the group. Winston cleared his throat before beginning to speak.

"Gentlemen. As you all know, we have new members in our pack, and those same members are dogs. Usually we would shoo them away and such, but with these it's an exception" Winston began. "Tony, the leader of the Eastern pack, informed me saying that they teleported unto our land. This must mean they came from somewhere else, and even maybe from a different time period", the alpha explained.

"I bet the artifact had something to do with it", suggested one of the deltas.

"I agree. They must have found their own artifact, and when they awakened it, it must have caused ours to activate as well. They act like teleports, which is why there are two of these relics around the globe", Winston said.

"So what exactly are we here for?", Can-do asked, a hint of impatience in his voice.

"We need to find out if these dogs are worthy of fully becoming a member to my pack. My daughter here thinks these dogs could be a threat to us", Winston explained, then pointing his head towards Kate. That's when Kate stepped up to say her part.

"I believe these newcomers could attract unwanted humans to our territory. I assume that right now, if they are owned by humans, then those humans are looking for them. It could be possible that those humans are hunters. This could also mean those dogs are undercover operatives, but this is all just assumptions, so don't take my word for it", Kate announced, right before sitting back down, finishing her little speech.

"Thank you, Kate. Now what do you all think we should do? There is no right or wrong answer", Winston asked the wolves.

"We should interrogate them", one beta suggested.

"Or we can send some of our scouts to track their every move and word", Hutch said.

"Maybe we should warn them of the consequences of being undercover spies", another wolf exclaimed.

Winston heard all of the suggestions. He nodded his head to signal the poll to stop. "I think our best bet is to send two of our best scouts to spy on the group. Now one more thing we should discuss is the artifact and…Blaze", Winston forced out slowly.

In return several wolfs whispered and murmured to each other of what their leader had just said. They were hoping things would not come to this. "Don't tell me what happened yesterday night attracted the attention of…", Can-do began but was cut off.

"Yes. It is likely they found out about the artifact. If they saw the affects, Blaze will no doubt want it for himself to rule all of Jasper. And we all know he's a ruthless, evil wolf. He does not know what he is toying with", Winston explained seriously.

"Should we prepare our army?", another delta asked.

Eve shook her head at Winston. "No, I think that would arouse more suspicion. If they found out about the artifact, it had to have been a drone. That means there is still more out there in the skies somewhere, surveying our territory", Winston explained. Several of the wolves growled lowly in anger. They weren't too fond of having a human made weapon spying on their own land. Eve was next to speak up.

"The artifact is buried, but it could be possible if the Northern/Southern pack invades us, they will ask questions. Your job is to lie to them. You can say the relic was destroyed on activation, while one of you sits on top of the burial site", Eve suggested.

"Do that smoothly, and we will avoid a war with the most dangerous pack in Jasper Park. For now, just be aware of your surroundings", Winston ordered. Everyone nodded their heads. "You may all head out now", Winston dismissed.

The seven wolves got up to leave the den, but not before shaking the alphas paw. Once they were out of sight, Winston sighed and turned back to his mate and daughter. They both looked at him, waiting for his comment.

"Well that went well", Winston said smiling.

"What now?", Kate asked, swaying her tail.

"Now we…", the grey wolfs voice was cut off by a beeping sound. His ears perked up at the frequent high pitched sound and followed it. "Wait here", Winston ordered.

The elderly wolf stepped out of the comfort of his den. There was a small rock near the opening of the den where the same beeping sound was coming from. Winston walked towards it to see a familiar device. Humans call them phones, which were some sort of communication device. It can extend for hundreds of miles while keeping a good connection. It was decided that only an alpha was allowed to have and use this device. It was also noted that it should only be used for emergencies or urgent times. The only person that could call Winston was Tony, so he already knew who it was.

The grey wolf pressed a button before speaking on the phone that was engraved to the rock. "What is it, Tony?", asked Winston.

"My own set of newcomers want to see Balto. Don't ask how I got them, all I will say is that second meteor was actually them", Tony said hastily.

'Who exactly wants to see Balto, and for what?", asked Winston.

"It's a red furred husky named Kodiak. Balto is his father and I promised him I would take him to see the guy", Tony explained.

Winston sighed, "Tony, you need to tell me this stuff ahead of time. You can't just start making plans without notifying me", the wolf replied annoyed.

"Better late than never, brother. Now, can he come or not?", asked Tony impatiently.

Winston thought for a moment, and then answered, "Yes he can. I will inform Balto about this. We will meet at the border", Winston said, before hanging up.

Meanwhile, Kate had her head peaking out near the entrance of the den. She overheard her father's conversation with Tony. Normally she was more mature than to just spy on her father like that, but he has been keeping things behind her back lately. Luckily, it was nothing important, at least for her. She quickly walked back to where she was sitting down earlier. Her mother must have not cared what she just did since she saw the whole thing and didn't say a word.

"What did he want now?", Eve asked annoyed.

"Looks like Tony got his set of dogs. Ours and his are related. He said one of them wants to see Balto", Winston explained.

"I got a brief look at the group, if I remember correctly", Kate commented.

There was a moment of silence afterwards. "Well, I think I should go find Balto", Winston said, before exiting his den, leaving the two females alone.

The grey elderly wolf was outside admiring the view his den gave him since it was on top of a rather large rocky hill. Most of the wolves were doing their usual routine; eating leftovers, visiting friends, going among their duties and such. Winston eyes caught something that held his attention. A familiar brown scruffy dog roaming around the territory. The wolf quickly identified him as being Balto, and headed straight for him.

((((()))))

Jasper Park Canada Thursday March 20 2011 12:37am

Kodi had just gotten up from his first slumber in Jasper. He slept surprisingly well despite all the strange chain of events that happened the day before. He noticed that Dusty had gotten up earlier, while Ralph and Kirby were still snoozing off. He had what was left of caribou as breakfast, since that's what all wolves pretty much eat. Luckily, he was already use to it.

He hadn't forgotten about seeing his father today, but he also wanted to apologize to Dusty as well, provided she's in a talking mood. His first order of business was to find out where the female husky went. He searched high and low with no success.

_C'mon Dust where did you go_, the red furred husky thought. He noticed a small stream leading further out into the woods, and decided to follow it. He kept walking in whatever direction the stream went. Sure enough, he saw a familiar dog. Dusty was drinking water, and she didn't seem to notice Kodi what so ever. The red furred husky cautiously approached the pissed off female before speaking.

"Hey.. Uh, Dusty, hehe. I didn't know you like to drink stream water", Kodi said awkwardly. Dusty didn't reply, and acted as if he wasn't even there. Kodi then decided it was no time to playing jokes.

"Hey, you okay?", Kodi asked, approaching the female husky. Surprisingly, she actually answered back. "Doing fabulous, thanks for asking", she replied sarcastically.

Kodi knew she wasn't alright. He was actually surprised he was still alive. "Listen Dust. I know what I did, and I know why you're mad at me. But look… can we…".

"If you came here to say you're sorry, than do yourself a favor, and burn in hell", Dusty sneered coldly, before walking away from the red and white husky. However, Kodi wasn't gonna let her go away clean that easily and began to follow her.

"Dusty, c'mon, you can't just hold a grudge against me like that!" Kodi complained.

"The hell I can!", Dusty shouted back. At this point Kodi had caught up with his angry friend.

"Why are you making such a big deal outta this?", Kodi asked, confused.

"Because this isn't the first time you don't listen to your friends!", Dusty shouted after turning to face Kodi with a furious expression on her face. Kodi took a step back, shocked at her sudden outburst.

"Back during that bush plane incident, you decided to go after that pilot alone, even after we told you how dangerous it was without a team. Look what almost happened to your father that day", Dusty explained. Kodi, however, had a counter for that too.

"First of all, you guys didn't want to go with me because you called that pilot "the enemy", Kodi said, making a quotation sign with his fingers. "Now what you need to understand is that I am a creature, and every living creature on this planet is gonna screw up. I know you're mad because I didn't listen to you", Kodi explained. Dusty just continued to walk, still fuming in anger.

"Look at the situation we are in Kodiak! Were in the middle of the woods with a bunch of wolves who can eat us at any time, my owners aren't here which means I have to resort to eating dead animals for lunch, you father is missing and probably got dragged into this mess as well, were about to cause these wolf packs to go into war with some other wolf packs that they don't like, and it's all because you wouldn't listen to some logical advice!", Dusty finished, breathing hard.

"I never wanted you to be dragged in this mess. But right now, if we don't cooperate with each other, things can take a turn for the worse. We all make mistakes Dust, but just do me a favor, and let go of the grudge", Kodi pleaded. Dusty still had an angry expression on her face. The two dogs were pretty much face to face.

"You forgive me?", Kodi asked.

Dusty hesitated before answering. He did have a point that working together will get them out of this mess, and Kodi was one of the greatest friends she had ever had. They have been friends since they were 3 month old pups. She couldn't just turn cold on him now. After all, they have been though similar conflicts like this before. She eventually sighed and spoke up. "Okay, Kodi. I'll let you slide on this one", the grey-velvet husky said quietly.

Kodi felt a wave of relief wash over him. His best friend wasn't going to kill him today. He grinned widely in return.

"But you better listen to me next time when it comes to our own safety… Or else", Dusty said threatenly. Kodi just shook the threat off as a joke. "Yea yea I get it. Now c'mon. We need to go see Tony", Kodi said, as the two walked back to the feeding grounds.

"What for?", Dusty asked.

"It's about my dad", Kodi replied, causing his friends eyes to widen in shock.

((((()))))

Kodiak was glad that Dusty had accepted his apology, since she can be very stubborn when it comes to forgiveness. The red furred husky thought he had a stronger bond with the female than his two other male friends: Ralph and Kirby.

Kodi wanted to make sure Tony kept his promise he made last night about escorting him to his father. He had been anxious all day, and the suspense was killing him. He decided that Ralph and Kirby should tag along too, so he told them to follow him and Dusty to the alpha's den.

The four had finally made it (after half an hour of getting lost) to the den and noticed Tony speaking with a random wolf, presumably his servant or guard or whatever. Kodi stepped up, causing the two wolfs to notice him and his friends.

"Can I help you guys?", Tony asked, raising one of his eyebrows.

"You said you were gonna take me to my father", Kodi reminded.

Tony chuckled. "Don't worry kid. I haven't forgotten. In fact I just called Winston telling him about you and your connection with Balto. He'll allow you to meet up with your dad, okay?", the red furred wolf explained.

Kodi nodded, relived that the wolf was true to his word. "Just give me a moment and we'll be on our way", Tony said. The wolf began walking out the den but stopped when he noticed the three other dogs in front of him. "I'm guessing you guys are tagging along too?", he asked.

Ralph, Kirby and Dusty all nodded simultaneously. "We're friends of Balto, and I would like to see if he's okay", Dusty explained.

Tony just nodded before walking out of his den. Kodi was not far behind him, along with his three other friends and that other wolf. Ralph noticed the wolf was armed when he picked up his pace to catch up with Tony, but didn't make a big deal out of it.

Tony had instructed five of his guards to accompany him on their way to the border, along with his son Garth. Once that was done, the group then headed out towards the border.

"Winston, this is Tony. We're bringing Kodiak to you. Make sure you have the package when we arrive at the border of our two territories" Tony said on one of his walkie talkies he was carrying.

((((()))))

Winston was headed straight to Balto to inform him about his son, that is, if he had not been interrupted. His walkie talkie went off and he heard a familiar voice.

_Winston, this is Tony. We're bringing Kodiak to you. Make sure you have the package when we arrive at the border of our two territories, _said Tony on the radio.

The grey wolf picked up the device and pressed a button, before putting it near his mouth. "Copy that. He's here right now, out", Winston said.

The alpha wolf looked up to see the half-breed roaming around, getting use to his new surroundings. He seemed harmless enough, but his daughter had made a good point about these dogs being spies. He began to approach the wolf-dog, who noticed him soon after.

"Morning", Winston greeted.

"Oh, good morning, sir. Is there anything wrong?" Balto asked.

Winston sighed heavily, prepared to give the hybrid some big-ass news. "It's your son", the grey alpha wolf said slowly.

Balto just cocked his head, confused. "I have three sir, which one are you…"

"Kodiak. He's on the east side of Jasper. Tony has him there", Winston explained, cutting him off mid sentence.

At this Balto had a wide range of emotions going through him at once, primarily shock, worry, disbelief, and dumbfounded all at once. How did his son wind up in Canada? It may have not been Jenna, but Kodi was still part of his family, and he needed to see him right now.

"Is he alright?! Tell me he's not hurt! I gotta find him right now!?", Balto panicked, catching the grey wolf in front of him by surprise.

"Calm down", Winston instructed, raising one of his paws. "He is being escorted to the border, a river that separates my territory from Tony's. I'll take you there now if that's what you want", Winston suggested.

At this Balto grinned widely, before running up to the alpha and shaking his paw frantically. "Oh thank you so much sir! You really have no idea how much that means to me!", the wolf-dog said quickly.

"Uh …yea…you're…welcome", Winston said, backing up two steps while being shocked at the wolf-dogs behavior. But then if he had been in the paws of the hybrid, he would have acted the same way if one of his daughters was in distress.

"I'll go get some of my men to come with us", Winston said, before walking off, leaving the hybrid to get Kaltag, Nikki and Star.

Balto quickly started searching for his three friends as fast as he could. He was hardly paying attention that he accidently bumped into two wolves, but he threw in a quick apology before continuing his search. He sniffed the ground so much that his face was almost full of dirt. When he did find his three friends, he couldn't get his words to come out faster.

"GUYS! GUYS! You'll never guess what happened!", Balto panted, getting a lot of weird looks from his three friends.

"What? Did a she-wolf try to hit on you?", Kaltag joked, causing Nikki and Star to laugh.

"My son, Kodi. He's here, and he's still alive!", Balto yelled out.

The three sled dogs eyes widened as soon as they heard Balto's comment. Nikki and Star may have not been so shocked, but Kaltag was a whole different story. He had known Kodi for some time, ever since he was a small pup. The little husky would always rant about him wanting to be a sled dog. When he was old enough, Kaltag got to train the husky, starting with the basics. Unfortunately Kodi got another teacher when he was ready for more advanced classes.

"Wait..how the hell did Kodi get in this mess?", Kaltag asked, dumbfounded.

"Who cares!? Winston is getting his escorts ready. We'll be going to that river that divides the Western and Eastern territories. That's where Kodi will be. Now let's go, we ain't getting any younger!" Balto commanded.

The three huskies obliged and followed Balto to wherever Winston went to. With Balto sniffing out the alpha's scent, they didn't take long to find the grey wolf. The group found the wolf already with his own set of escorts. Once everyone was ready to go, they all went straight for the border.

((((()))))

Jasper Park Canada Thursday March 20, 2011 12:45am

As excited as he was, Kodi wasn't so sure what his father's reaction would be if he found out he was the cause of this big mess. Keeping his trap shut was probably the best route to go. He didn't need to get on somebody's bad side again.

The walk was longer than it should have been, in Kodi's opinion at least. He really wished everyone could pick up the pace. It was only six guards escorting the alpha really. The sight of tree after tree and rocks was really driving the red and white husky crazy. The silence was too much for Kodi, so he decided to chat with Ralph, who was right next to him.

"Hey, you think my dad will ever figure out that I caused all this to happen?", Kodi asked.

Ralph just shrugged his shoulders, "don't know man. Why you ask?", he wondered.

"Oh, just asking", Kodi lied. He walked over a fallen log. "My god this suspense is killing me", Kodi retorted.

The group continued to walk and walk…slowly. Kodi wondered how they can be so silent for long periods of time. The red furred dog stepped on a branch, causing it to make a crack sound. Two of the guards misintercepted the sound when a couple of birds flew away at the sound. The raised their rifles at the trees, suspicious.

"Calm down, it's just wildlife", Tony commanded.

After 5 agonizing minutes later, the canines made it to the border, the place Tony chose to meet up with Winston and his own group. All the wolves sat down, just staring at the bushes on the other side of the river where Winston would be popping out. Kodi and his friends sat down a couple pawsteps away from the wolves, all waiting for one dog only; Balto.

It was pretty silent, except for the chirping of birds, the rustle of the trees, and the sound of the flowing water in the river. By now Kodi wasn't the only one impatient for his father's arrival. Tony was tapping his tail against the ground, a sign that he was becoming impatience. His son was slowly falling asleep in the process.

Just when everyone was about to lose their minds, Tony, Garth and the six wolves ears perked up at the sound of some bushes rustling in front of them. Everyone looked in front of them to see Winston and three of his own guards armed with what appeared to be AK47s, some with reflex sights and such.

"Winston! Glad you could make it. I was worried your age was getting the best of you", Tony joked.

"At least my spine is still in good condition", Winston shot back, lightning the mood.

Kodi, however, was not in the same joking mood that the two alphas were sharing. He decided to step up in front of the grey wolf, but not too much to cross the river. He didn't see his father anywhere, and he felt like he'd been set up. But before he could say anything, Winston took notice of the husky.

"Ah, you must be the Kodiak Tony has told me about. You're here for your father, right?", Winston asked. Kodi nodded his head in response.

The grey alpha wolf nodded his head, understanding. "Bring him out!", shouted Winston. As soon as Kodi heard the command, he heard more bushes move around near him. He first saw two more armed wolves step out of the bushes.

Then…Balto stepped out right behind the two guards.

Kodi's tail was wagging at 1,000 miles an hour at the sight of his father. His fur looked more rustled than ever, and he even looked more wolf than dog for the first time. He barely noticed that the hybrid was also accompanied by his three sled dog friends. With an explosion of energy, the red furred dog leaped over the river and ran to his father as fast as he could.

"DAD!", Kodi shouted.

The wolf-dog smiled widely as he saw his son run up to him. He had never been more relived in his life. He may have not known how he got to Canada, but at least he was safe and sound.

"Kodi", he whispered to himself.

The red furred husky almost knocked the wind out of his father, all while nuzzling him non-stop, missing the feel of his warm fur against his own. Balto was literally crying tears of joy, hugging his son as tightly as he could.

Tony and Winston saw everything unfold. Tony had never seen a warmer sight. In fact, he thought it could have melted the coldest of hearts. Winston had a knowing expression on his face. He understood what Balto was going through. After hearing that his son was trapped in someone else's pack, it only made sense to freak out. It's what a good parent does.

Kaltag, Nikki and Star had to fight back tears of their own when they saw how much affection Kodi unleashed when he saw his father for the first time in a long time. Nikki noticed Ralph, Kirby and Dusty sitting down on the other side of the border. "Ey, look over dere", Nikki pointed out to Kaltag, making him notice the three huskies.

Ralph, Kirby and Dusty were just as relived as Kodi was when they saw Balto walk out of the bushes in one piece. And although they didn't show the affection Kodi was at the moment, they all still felt what their friend was feeling. Kirby noticed Nikki point at them.

"Hey, isn't that that one dog that ran during the serum run", Kirby asked to Ralph.

"Yea. I've seen him a couple times before. What about him?", the grey husky questioned.

"He's pointing at us. You think he's talking crap about us", Kirby asked, suspicious.

Ralph just chuckled before answering, "Relax man. I don't think their one of those stuck up dogs", Ralph replied.

After five minutes later, Kodi finally stopped nuzzling his father and looked him in his bright yellow eyes.

"I'd thought they hurt you", Kodi whispered, a tear rolling down his eye.

"It's okay. I'm here now", the wolf-dog comforted, before pulling his son into a hug. "I'm here", he whispered again.

Unfortunately the touching moment had to come to an end, like all good things. Winston took some steps towards the father and son. He cleared his throat, catching the two dog's attention.

"Um… I'm sorry to interrupt, but we do need to decide if you would like to be with your father here, at my pack", Winston offered.

Kodi immediately came up with an answer so after, "yea. I'd want nothing more", he replied, smiling back at his father, who grinned in return.

Winston nodded his head. The father and son were about to make their way back to the territory, but Kodi had one last question he had to ask his friends.  
"Hey, you guys wanna come with us?", Kodi asked.

"Nah, I'm all good over here. They have good food here anyways", Ralph shouted, with Kirby agreeing with him.

Dusty however, had different plans. She walked towards the river and jumped over, landing on the western side of Jasper. "I'll come with you" she said. Kodi grinned, thankful that at least one of his friends would join him. Good thing he won't be bored anytime soon.

Winston approached Tony right after everything had settled down. "Thank you for allowing that kid to reunite with his father. It's very noble of you Tony", Winston said. He could tell that Tony was not use to these types of conversations. He and Winston would always argue about something, so they really didn't show their friendship as much.

"Yea right. The kids got one hell of a bond with his dad…just like mine", Tony replied, gazing at Garth who was talking with some of the escorts.

Everyone was now going their separate ways. There were things that had to be done, like the upcoming hunt. However, Winston and his group, along with Kodi, Dusty, and Balto, heard a strange sound coming from the distance. It sounded very strange to the three dogs, like a deep whooshing sound. However, Balto noticed that Winston and his crew had heard it before, since they were all tense and cautious.

Winston would know that sound anywhere. He rarely heard it in these parts, but he has heard it enough times to identify what it was. It was the sound of the spinning blades of a helicopter, getting close to their positions. The wolves on the other side of the river (the Eastern pack and Ralph and Kirby), weren't as fast. But they heard the sound as soon as they saw their fellow pack mates on the other side of the river tense up and wary.

As the heli loomed close to all the wolves (and dogs), it was close enough to see what it was clearly. The helicopter turned out to be a UH-60 Blackhawk, although no one actually knew that, especially Balto Kodi, Dusty, Ralph and Kirby, who have never even seen a heli before.

"What the hell is that thing", Kodi asked.

"I've never seen anything like it", Balto mused.

"You think that's another one of those human flying machines?", Dusty questioned to Kodi, who only shrugged his shoulders. They have seen a bushplane, but this was totally alien to them. They freaked out even more when the saw the aircraft hover in place, preparing to land in Tony's territory.

"It's landing in our territory!", shouted one of Tony's escorts, since it was too loud to speak normally. The blades of the helicopter and all the debris and wind were making it hard to communicate.

_That can't be a human piloting that chopper. There's only one other person who would have the nerve to land in unauthorized territory like that_, Winston thought. He looked at Tony for a second, then back at the helicopter that was lowering unto the ground.

"We should go investigate! I'll go with you, Tony!", Winston shouted to the red furred wolf. Tony nodded his head before dashing off to the landing site, telling everyone on his side to follow him.

"C'mon lets go. We'll assist him when we get there. Move!", Winston commanded to his guards, who jumped over the river and followed Tony and his pack, right before Winston did the same. Balto saw everything unfold so fast. He figured whatever that thing was; it wouldn't be safe for Kodi or Dusty. He didn't need his son or his friends to be in danger…again.

"You two head back towards Winston's territory. Go to the main area, it's where most of the locals are", the hybrid ordered. The two nodded their heads and scurried off. Balto then followed Winston and the others, who had a good lead already.

((((()))))

Jasper Park Canada Thursday March 20, 2011 1:05pm.

Tony, Winston, and a bunch of armed wolfs were pursuing the landing site of the helicopter. They all had to know who or what was crazy enough to land in wolf territory. Balto caught up with the giant group, but was panting hard, due to having to run a lot faster than all the wolves just to catch up with them.

There were a lot of alpha guards (wolves whose duty is to protect the pack's alpha) armed and ready for anything. So if the helicopter or anybody in it did posses as a threat, they would be ready. Everyone kept running for 55 more meters until they saw the giant helicopter. Balto was astonished at the machine. He never seen anything so advanced in his life, although the others weren't as surprised. The blades were still spinning wildly, but the engine had been cut off, so there was not as much noise as last time. Still, no one saw the pilot.

Several wolves aimed their rifles at the chopper when they saw movement inside. Three armed wolves (each with an M4A1) stepped out of the chopper, before one more came out. The last wolf was not known to Balto or to any of the other wolves from the Eastern or Western pack, but Tony and Winston knew this certain creature in an instant.

_Blaze. _Winston muttered to himself. He thought he cut off all relation with him and his pack. But it seemed he was not done, and both Tony and Winston knew what he came for. The two alphas looked at each other nervously.

"Winston, Tony…It's been way too damn long…Hasn't it?", the dark furred wolf chuckled.

Tony didn't know what to respond with, since he was shocked and scared at the sight of the wolf. He knew that this guy was crazy and cold-blooded, and would do anything to rule the four wolf packs of Jasper Park.

"I don't know what you're doing here, or what you want, but it better be good, because you got some nerve to just land your machines onto our territory without permission", Winston growled.

Blaze just chuckled more in response. "I see you haven't changed a bit, have you, Winnie?", Blaze taunted. Winnie was a nickname he uses to call Winston all the time, and boy would it aggravate him. But now it was Tony's turn to speak.

"If you're here for the device, then you're outta luck. It was destroyed upon activation" Tony lied, causing some of the wolves on Blazes side to growl demonically.

"And even if it wasn't destroyed…we wouldn't give it to you", Tony finished. However, Blaze wasn't buying it. He had already sent a drone out for a testing flight, and it actually found Garth and Humphrey burying the artifact in front of his eyes.

"I think not. One of my drones caught two of your wolves burying the thing. So looks like you got caught red handed", Blaze mocked.

"Oh, so now you're sending drones to spy on our own territory. I say you've gotten crazier over the years!", Winston snapped. Blaze only rolled his eyes. One of his wolves decided to stand up for his leader.

"Hey we were just te…"

"Can it!", Winston cut off harshly. This caused the three wolves to become even angrier. They looked like they could rip someone's heart out in a few seconds. The wolves from the West and East cocked their rifles as a warning not to get any closer.

Meanwhile, Balto was (once again) confused as all hell. Apparently Winston knew this Blaze guy. Their rivalry kinda reminded him of his own rivalry with Steele. What he also found strange, was the weapons all the wolves had. He knew they were guns, but they were shaped weird, and some had things on top of the rifle where you aim down the sights. They looked like guns from the future. He just hoped, him being a pacifist and all, that things did not turn bloody.

"Enough!", shouted Blaze. "I want you three to search for the artifact", Blaze commanded to his three armed wolves. They only took two steps before they heard a dozen rifles being cocked again.

"Listen to me, Blaze, and listen very closely", Winston whispered to his worst enemy. "You're outnumbered, and outgunned, so I think it's best you leave right now, and never come back. And I'm saying this in the nicest way possible", Winston said, eye to eye with the black furred wolf.

They both had an eerie stare down, before Blaze backed away. "In the chopper", he muttered to his squad. The three wolves obeyed, but the other Eastern and Western wolves aimed their guns wherever the three wolves went. They had to be sure they weren't going to sneak attack them. Blaze entered the cockpit of the Blackhawk and began to take off. The blades began to pick up speed, kicking around leaves and dust all over the place.

The heli then began to lift itself off the ground and hover in place. Everyone covered their faces at all the debris. After a few more seconds the helicopter began to fly away. Everyone breathed a sigh a relief. No one was hurt during the tensest moment in their lives.

Tony and Winston shook paws, glad that they stood up for one another. Balto was glad that everyone on both sides was safe and sound. Just as everyone was about to go their separate ways, an ear piercing bang rang across the valley. A second later, a wolf from the Western pack fell to the ground, with a bullet wound to his chest, blood oozing though his fur and unto the ground.

"MARKSMEN! SCATTER!", yelled Winston. Everyone separated and tried to find whatever suitable cover their was. Rocks, trees, tall grass and such. Balto took cover behind a boulder, while Tony and Winston too cover in their own separate tree. Another bang was shot. Causing birds to fly away in terror.

Balto's ears were ringing loudly. He had heard gunshots go off before, especially from hunting rifles, but this one was just powerful. It took a while before his hearing could come back.

"Where the hell did that come from?", one of the Eastern wolves whispered to his packmate.

"I don't know, man. But I know that guy's going to have a bad day once my sights are on him", the other wolf replied.

Tony face palmed himself, already knowing why there was a sniper trying to kill his own packmates. "Damn. That marksman must have been sent from Blaze. I knew the bastard would do something like this", Tony said angrily. Winston nodded his head in agreement.

"This must've been his plan B. Either way, we have to kill that guy" Winston suggested. He peeked at his surroundings, but was suppressed back in cover when the sniper fired another shot at him. 'You three, suppress the sniper, while you two take him out", Winston ordered some of his guards.

One of the western wolves peeked his head out on purpose. The sniper fired at him but missed, revealing his position. Three other wolves began to fire their AK-47's at the sniper, causing him to stop aiming down and seek cover. Two eastern pack wolves ran up to more cover, closer to the sniper. They waited for the sniper to expose himself again. One of them saw the scope glint and fired three shots at it. There was a distant groan, and the wolves saw a body fall down to the ground.

Balto was amazed at how many bullets theses guns can spit out. Usually almost every single gun the humans had in Nome fired a single shot before having to manually chamber the next bullet. So many strange things have happened today, and the wolf-dog was beginning to wonder if he really was in 1930.

"It's clear!", shouted one of the western wolves. Everyone stepped out of their hiding place and observed the one wolf that was shot. There was blood all around his body and he wasn't even breathing.

"That young kid didn't make it", Tony said sorrowly. Two Eastern wolves began to pick up and take his body away, where it will be buried later. Balto was just as sentimental as the red furred alpha. He was hoping things wouldn't come to this. And something in his gut was telling him it was going to get a whole lot worse.

"Everyone, back to the territory. We have much to discuss", Winston announced. All the western pack wolves obliged and headed towards the border again. There was an eerie ambience around the forest, and Winston could feel it. The alpha shook it off and decided to go back to his den for yet another meeting. Only this time, he knew how things were going to turn out.


	8. Chapter 8: The invasion

Chapter 8: The final straw

Jasper Park Canada Thursday March 20 2011 12:50am

_20 minutes before shots were fired_

Back over in the Western pack, a lot of the local wolves were not aware that a major threat was in their midst. Although some heard the spinning blades of the Blackhawk, many shook it off as a nearby human aircraft, minding its own business. Kodi and Dusty were busy looking for another den, since they would be staying in the western side of Jasper for a while.

"You think this one will do?", Dusty asked, pointing at an empty den near her. Kodi smelled inside to see if there were any scents.

"This one's clean, so yea, this will do", Kodi replied.

"I hope you're right, I don't wanna end up wolf meat ya know", Dusty joked.

Kodi grinned at her statement. He noticed the female walk up to him. "So how will we come back to this same den? It's not like there are signs here you know", Dusty implied.

"I'll mark this as our own", Kodi said.

Dusty cocked her head. "How?", she asked.

Kodi blushed at her question. He knew how he was going to leave a trail for them to pick up later. He would pee on the floor, and that would leave both a visible and smellable trace that this was rightfully theirs. It was just really awkward telling that to a girl.

"Um, well… you know", Kodi chuckled awkwardly.

"No, I don't know", Dusty said, still confused. Kodi then lifted one of his hind legs up to make a point. "Oh…okay I see where this is going" the velvet grey husky murmured.

"Yeah, so if you don't mind…", Kodi said, shooing the husky away with his paw. Dusty nodded her head before walking a good distance away from her friend. She sat down waiting for Kodi to "do his business". Moments later she heard him walking out.

"You all done?" Dusty asked, still facing away from the red furred husky.

"Yep", Kodi simply replied. The female turned around to see a sheepish grin on Kodi's face. She rolled her eyes and brushed passed him. "So now what do we do?", Dusty questioned.

Kodi thought for a moment, before speaking. "Let's get to know the locals better. Who knows what benefits that will get us", Kodi suggested. They ducked over a branch and headed straight for any friendly wolves they can get to know.

((((()))))

Every wolf in the Western pack looked like they had something to keep them distracted, all but one. Humphrey was lying down on his back inside his den, bored out of his mind. His first thought was to find his Kate, but her being an alpha and all; the omega assumed she was busy.

He got word that Winston would be taking this Balto guy to see his son, who had somehow ended up in Canada. According to Winston, Balto was greatly concerned for his son safety. It made Humphrey think what it would be like to be a father, but that would have to wait.

Right when the young wolf was about to go nuts, he decided to find Kate, even if she was busy if she got mad because he interrupted anything important, he would just put on his puppy eyes, which never fails. The omega walked out of the den and began sniffing out the alpha's scent. He quickly picked it up and started following it.

After about 40 yards, Humphrey spotted Kate roaming around doing who knows what. She looked just as bored as Humphrey, since she was just walking around with a blank expression on her face. Humphrey snapped his fingers twice to get the alpha's attention. Kate looked back to see her mate waving and smiling at her.

"Hey, sweetheart!", Humphrey greeted, nuzzling the tan furred alpha. "You looked bored back there", the grey wolf noted.

"You have no idea", Kate replied. She was relieved to see her mate since there really was nothing to do but wait for their father to come back with new orders.

"Wanna walk around with me?", Humphrey offered.

"Sure. Got nothing better to do anyways", Kate replied, before walking side by side with her mate.

"So how did your first alpha meeting go?", Humphrey asked.

"Better than I thought. I gave my personal opinion on Balto and his gang", Kate replied. A rock forced them to separate for a split second before walking to gather again.

"What did you say?", Humphrey asked.

"I told them I think they could be undercover to lure the humans to our pack. But of course it's just a guess", Kate answered, adding the last part quickly.

"That's nice, Kate. Maybe the next meeting should be whether a handsome fellow like me can be an alpha like you", the grey wolf joked, causing Kate to giggle.

"Very funny. Although I have been thinking about that for some time now, and I think you should become an alpha, just like me. Since I'm your mate and I'm an alpha, its customary for the alphas mate to be an alpha as well", Kate explained.

"Sweet. Guess we can rule the pack together", Humphrey exclaimed. The couple walked over a fallen log with some moss on it.

"Being in alpha isn't easy, Humphrey. And I don't know if my predictions will work", Kate warned.

Humphrey rolled his eyes. "When in life is anything easy?", Humphrey pointed out. The two kept walking around the territory, not saying a word. They were really not going anywhere specific. During their walk, Kate noticed something about Humphrey. He would always let her walk a little bit ahead of him every time they would have their walks.

"Humphrey, why do you keep doing that?", Kate asked.

"Doing what?", Humphrey questioned, cocking his head. Kate turned around to face the omega.

"You always let me get some distance ahead of you every time we walk together, no matter where we go. You even did the same thing when we were trying to find our way back home. So why do you keep doing that?", Kate asked again. (Watch alpha and omega 1 again if you don't get this one. Humphrey is ALWAYS behind Kate)

Humphrey then began to chuckle to himself, much to Kate's displeasure. "What's so funny?", Kate asked, annoyed.

Humphrey only continued to chuckle to himself. Once he regained his breath, he spoke up. "You really want to know why?", Humphrey teased. Kate nodded her head quickly, wanting the omega to get to the point fast. The young grey wolf stepped toward Kate, before leaning his muzzle close to Kate's ear.

"It's because I got a better view", Humphrey finally admitted. Kate sighed and turned back around, shaking her head. "Omegas", she muttered to herself. Humphrey ended up laughing loudly at his mate's reaction. "We're mates now so I don't see what the problem is", Humphrey said.

"How about the fact that you were doing those kind of things before we were…", Kate was cut off by the sound of a distant gunshot. The sound crackled though the skies, causing a vast amount of birds to fly away. Both wolves stopped dead in their tracks, terrified of what they just heard.

"Oh crap. I think you were right about those undercover dogs, Kate", Humphrey pried, shaking his legs in fear.

"You think that's a hunter?", Kate asked, equally as scared as her mate. Both of them kept scanning the area, making sure no one was near them.

"I think so", Humphrey replied. Just then, another shot was fired into the distance. It was far away, but still pretty loud for the two wolves. Kate was worried that if a hunter was really there, that he could be harming her father and his group that tagged along with him to the border.

"We need to find my dad. He could be in trouble", Kate said, worried. She began to take off, but Humphrey grabbed her by the scruff, stopping her.

"No, Kate! We can't risk it. Best thing now is to warn the other wolves", Humphrey suggested. The tan furred wolf seemed to hesitate for a second. Was she really going to abandon her father like that? But Humphrey was right. The others had to at least be prepared, or more casualties would follow. "Okay", Kate said simply.

The two wolves began to turn around and head back to the pack, but something else stopped them again. There was more distant gunfire. But instead of hearing a loud bang as expected, they heard multiple assault rifles firing at full auto. The place now sounded like a battlefield, and both wolves knew that now there was no hunter conflict.

"Kate, I think what's out there could be much worse than a hunter", Humphrey explained.

Kate ended up face palming herself. "God dammit, Humphrey, make up your mind already!", Kate shouted, aggravated.

"I think your dad and his little group got ambushed by some other wolves", Humphrey predicted.

"But from what pack?", Kate asked.

"Doesn't matter. You go and warn the pack about this affair, and I'll check on your father", Humphrey ordered.

Kate was about to hesitate, but she couldn't get a word out as her mate put a paw on her mouth to silence her. "Kate…do we really have any other options?", Humphrey asked. They both stared longingly at each other, before Kate eventually agreed.

"Just be careful out there. Who knows if that firefight is even close to over", Kate warned, nuzzling her mate one last time.

"Don't worry. This'll be quick", Humphrey convinced. Before running off to the border and making sure Winston and his escorts were alright.

((((()))))

Jasper Park Canada Thursday March 20 2011 1:10am.

Humphrey ran as fast as his omega legs could carry him. The world around him was nothing but a faint blur. As he heard more gunfire, it only encouraged him to run faster. The young wolf swiftly dodged anything that got in his way; trees, rocks, bushes with thorns, nothing was slowing him down. He couldn't afford to see the only leader of the Western Pack dead.

After jumping over another bush, Humphrey was finally at the border. He would have continued onward towards the Eastern side, but something stopped him in his tracks.

The sound of pawsteps closing in on him.

If his prediction was right, and invaders did kill Winston and everyone with him, then there was no doubt that whoever killed them was heading straight for the Western Pack. Humphrey was usually one to break up fights, but every instinct in his body was telling him a threat was nearby. He changed into a defensive position, his teeth bared - ready for action. He growled lowly, ready for anyone who was ready to take him on.

Seconds later, Humphrey was surprised to not see a random bloodthirsty wolf as expected, but instead a familiar elderly grey wolf walking out with Balto and his escorts. Everyone looked just as surprised as he was, which made sense since it looked like Humphrey was about to attack them.

"Uh…you okay, Humphrey?", asked one of the wolves.

Humphrey just stood there, feeling dumbfounded. It took him a second to realize the wolf asked him a question. "Uh, yea, hehe, just thought you guys were some hostile's hehe", Humphrey answered awkwardly, embarrassed of the situation.

"Then can you lower your battle gear", Winston asked metaphorically. Humphrey hadn't even noticed his teeth, including his canines, were still bared. He quickly put them back inside his mouth, blushing hard. Some of the wolves chuckled to themselves because of the omegas behavior. They have always known Humphrey to be one that can lighten up the day, no matter what happens.

"It's okay, Humphrey", Winston said. "I take it you heard all the commotion?", Winston asked.

"Yes, sir. Kate is worried sick about you. What happened to all of you? You guys still in one piece?", Humphrey asked, worried.

This time, Balto was the one to answer, which surprised everyone, considering they thought he was shy. "We made it out. Well…most of us anyway", the wolf-dog explained, referring to the one wolf that had been shot and killed by the marksmen out of nowhere. Usually he had been very quiet, not comfortable being in a wolf pack with a bunch of wolves, even if he was half and half. But he saw that they were friendly enough, so he began being more comfortable around them.

Humphrey saw two Western pack wolves carry another wolf with a bullet wound to his chest. His fur was stained with his own blood, and the omega quickly assumed there was no way he survived the ordeal. The young grey wolf felt immense sorrow at the sight. It was his own "comrade" after all, that had just been killed.

"It's a long story, Humphrey. All I'll say right now to save time is that an old enemy of ours is back, and something tells me he's looking for more than just a fight" Winston explained, before heading back to his territory, along with everybody else. The little explanation Winston had just given the omega didn't shed much light on the situation, but he told himself that everything will be clear within time. He soon followed the rest of the wolves back to the Western pack.

((((()))))

Later, a tan she-wolf was running around the entire Western territory warning every wolf that an imminent threat could be on its way. Some were shocked at the news, others were scared to death, and some were prepared and brave. Kate was panting hard, exhausted after running around the whole place for so long. But she wasn't done yet. Her sister had yet to be warned. Kate slapped her forehead and followed her scent.

After about five minutes Kate spotted a familiar white wolf walking around the more populated area of the territory. She seemed all cheery, minding her own business despite all the locals running back to their dens with looks of horror on their faces. She ignored how everyone was acting and padded up to her sister, who noticed her soon after.

"Hi, Kate", the white wolf greeted happily. "You'll never guess what…"

"Lilly, there's no time. Our pack is in danger", Kate said hesitantly.

"What do you mean? Is that why everyone is freaking out?", Lilly asked. As soon as she asked that, a random female wolf ran near the two sisters screaming in terror, causing both females to cover their ears.

"Yea, that's pretty much it. Listen to me. I don't know who's trying to invade us, but me and Humphrey heard gunfire from a distance, and they sound heavily armed. Dad's also still out there", Kate explained.

"What!? You mean dad's pinned down?" Lilly asked, shocked. "We gotta go save him!", Lilly said trying to run away but Kate caught her tail to prevent her from leaving.

"No, it's okay, Lilly. Humphrey's already out there making sure everyone's okay", Kate explained. "Where is he anyway?", the tan she-wolf whispered to herself. She hoped that her mate wasn't shot to hell as well- at least if the intruders haven't been stopped. She hasn't been this worried since the Western and Eastern packs were at tensions a while back, almost to the point of rural warfare.

Then, as if on cue, relief washed over Kate as she saw a familiar young grey and white omega appear with a group of wolves not far behind him. Both sisters face's lit up when they saw their father among the crowd of wolves. They didn't even notice the dead wolf being carried away. They both ran up and hugged him nearly to death, all while saying things like "We were worried about you" and "We heard what happened"

As soon as she was done displaying her affection towards her father, Kate back up a little to face the grey wolf. He looked serious.

"I'm sorry, girls. But I have some serious things to do right now", Winston said, before signaling his wolves to follow him to his den. There were some very important things to discuss, and the alpha wasn't going to sit out during this time of despair.

The two girls were left alone, a little confused at their father's mood. But they quickly shook it off, assuming the incident with whoever tried to kill their father was causing him to act that way. Kate soon noticed her mate talking to her.

"You could say…you're welcome", Humphrey said, cracking a sly smile on his face.

Kate cocked her head, confused. "What do you mean?", she asked skeptically.

"Oh man, you shoulda seen me out there. So everyone was liked pinned down and I come up, grab this machine gun, and just start mowing down those mother…", Kate put her paw on the omegas mouth to silence him, much to Lilly's amusement.

"Tell me what really happened", Kate demanded. She really didn't have time for jokes right now, as much as she loved Humphrey's many jokes.

"Well I just walked to the border, and they appeared out of the bloom. All but one survived the shootout from what I saw", Humphrey explained.

Kate's eyes widened. "Wait…you mean someone got killed?!", she panicked.

"Sadly yes. The wolf had a bullet wound to his chest. He must've bled out", Humphrey said sorrowly. Kate dropped her ears, a sign of sadness. "C'mon, let's get back to our den", Humphrey suggested to his mate.

"Okay. See you later, Lilly", Kate said to her sister, who waved back. The two wolves headed back to their den, deciding what to do for the time being.

((((()))))

After losing one of his own wolves during the shootout earlier, Winston had to get to the bottom of the situation, and stop Blaze from doing anything else that could take more lives. He needed to discuss important matters with the Beta's and Delta's. He knew Blaze would not take kindly into being prohibited to have possession of the artifact. What Winston didn't know, is how far the psychotic wolf will go to obtain what he wants. Winston and Blaze have not been in good terms in the past, mostly due to how one views another.

As the grey wolf continued to think deeply, he began to worry how many more lives would it cost to bring Blaze and his packs to justice. It was a pretty even fight, the North and South versus the East and West, but it would be a bloody one as well. Winston never forgot what his father told him when he was just a year old.

_You must pick your battles wisely, or your loved ones will end up getting caught in the crossfire, _his father had told him.

He took the same moral when his pack and the Eastern pack were on the brink of war. Luckily, it was averted just when it seemed to be inevitable. But what about now? Can he avoid conflict twice? And can he protect his family if his pack ends up in a war with Blaze's packs? His thoughts were caught short when the elderly wolf noticed he was right in front of the entrance to his den.

"Everyone inside", he ordered to the wolves behind him. Winston stepped inside to find Eve sitting down at the far end of the den.

"Honey, what's going on? I thought you finished your meeting", Eve asked, confused.

"It's Blaze. He's found us after all this time. And things didn't go as well as I'd hope when he found out about the artifact", Winston explained. At this point every Beta and Delta were taking their seats.

"What do you mean? What happened?", Eve questioned, worried.

"I'll tell you later", Winston dismissed, noticing that everyone was waiting on him. He had invited (or ordered) Hutch and Can-do to his den as well, since they were his best Beta's. Winston cleared his throat before beginning.

"Gentleman. It appears the alpha of the Northern/Southern pack has found out about the origin of our artifact. As most of you know, he didn't like the fact that I stomped on his last chance at domination. Once he left, it appears he sent a marksman to kill us all", Winston explained. Hutch and Can-do were caught by surprise when they heard Winston and his escorts being under attack.

"You guys were under fire?", Hutch asked.

Winston nodded his head. "It appears that was Blaze's back up plan in case he couldn't get the artifact himself. Luckily we killed the sniper".

"Wait, why would that marksmen be part of Blaze's pack?", Can-do asked. Many of the wolves agreed to the Beta's action.

"Who else could it have been? It wasn't a hunter because my eyesight still works perfectly", Winston replied. Can-do tried to come up with an answer, but nothing came up.

"Exactly. Now here's the million dollar question. Normally I would hold a vote for these types of debates, but right now, I'm only focusing on Faro here", Winston explained, pointing at a muscular wolf with black fur and a grey underbelly. Faro has had a harsh life in the past. He used to be part of a pack known as "The Sanghia Pack". But then the pack members turned against one another, and ended up causing a deadly civil war. Not many survived the conflict. Some managed to escape the territory, with battle scars never to fade away.

Faro was one of those survivors. In the war, there were no sides. His mate was killed by a bombing run and Faro had to send his newborn pup afloat a boat he made, in hopes someone would find and take care of her. Faro took many lives in the conflict, including the alphas. He was found by Winston and Eve just when he seemed on the verge of death. At this time, Kate was just a 3 month old puppy, and Lilly had yet to be born.

Many wolves wonder how Faro keeps a positive attitude despite his harsh and depressing back-story. He would always reply with "Moving forward is the best direction". Because of his veteran-hardened career, he became the general of the Western and now Eastern pack. He was very skilled at commanding troops and tactical strategies. The blue eyed wolf looked up at Winston when he mentioned his name.

"Faro, do you think Blaze's acts today, and in the past, are enough for us to declare war on him and his packs?", Winston asked slowly.

Faro thought for a moment, then answered. "Sir, I think we should give him one last chance. But to take precautions, we should prepare our military just in case fate wants to be a bitch with us. Right now we should think about peace for the time being", Faro suggested.

Winston thought the idea for a while. He did like the idea of not having to worry about his territory turning into a battlefield. But Blaze was one of those stubborn individuals who would not give up on getting his paws in the artifact. "I'll be in charge of the peace talk with Blaze. Faro, prepare our military just in case", Winston commanded.

Everyone nodded their heads. "I'm not going to lie to you all, I think there's a good chance Blaze will wage war on us. But I won't let him get away with it "Winston said one last time.

"Everyone here is dismissed. Take care", the alpha dismissed.

Everyone got up from their haunches and turned to leave the den. As soon as everyone was out of earshot, Winston turned to face his mate. "Honey, I don't know what to do. If I don't declare war, Blaze will. And if I do declare war, I'll end up hurting the ones I love", Winston said.

"It's okay, sweetheart. You always figure things out. So today won't be any different", Eve encouraged.

Winston smiled, right before he heard a familiar beeping sound. The alpha quickly realized the phone was ringing. He stepped out his den and approached the phone engraved on the rock. Winston pressed a button and wondered what Tony wanted this time.

"Yes, Tony? Is everything alright?", the grey wolf asked.

"Nope. Guess again", the voice replied sinisterly.

Winston widened his eyes as soon as he realized who he was really talking to.

"Blaze", Winston growled. Out of all times, it had to be now. And something in the wolfs gut told him that whatever Blaze had to say wasn't going to be pretty.

"That's me", the wolf mocked.

"How the hell did you tap through this line, Blaze?!" Winston asked angrily.

"You and I both know why I'm calling you", Blaze simply replied. Winston knew what he was referring to. There was no mistaking that Blaze had sent one of his lackeys to eliminate him and his escorts.

"You're crazy, Blaze! You took the lives of one of my wolves for a device that we both don't know how to control. You have some god damn nerve talking to me right now!", Winston yelled angrily. He heard the wolf chuckle on the phone.

"You always had such a short temper, don't you Winnie", Blaze mocked.

Winston felt like he wanted to rip out all organs on the wolf. He had never felt this much rage in a long time. He _would _bring Blaze to justice.

"Listen, Blaze. You don't know how this thing works, and neither do I. Just look at how much trouble my newest members got into because of the artifact. You need to use your head. Why don't we just never get involved with the damn thing and say this never happened?", Winston suggested.

"You're not going away that cleanly, Winston, not this time. I have tried so hard to prove to you I can be a great leader to all the packs of Jasper. But YOU always wanted to be at the top!", Blaze shouted.

"Training my wolves to be killers isn't what an actual alpha does. I wouldn't let you brainwash my men, so they can turn on me later", Winston replied calmly.

"Whatever! I tried to give you one last chance so we can all be equal, but now I see reason won't stop you. But maybe…force will", Blaze said evilly.

"Blaze, please. We can work something out. For the sake of our packs, please don't do this. I'm begging you! You don't know what you're dealing with! That device can get your packed killed. Don't do this, Blaze! Please!", Winston begged. He knew what Blaze was referring to when he said the word "force". He wanted his daughters to live a happy life. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Eve. But Blaze was about to crush those dreams like they were nothing if he declared war.

There was a long, eerie moment of silence between the two alphas. Winston began to wonder if Blaze had hung up on him. But he would soon wish he had. It only took three words to open the gates of hell, at least for Winston.

"…you're too late", Blaze whispered demonically, before hanging up. Winston wondered what the wolf behind the phone meant.

Then, out of nowhere without any kind of warning, a flying figure moving at blinding speeds swooped right about Winston's head, knocking him off his feet and onto the ground. The flying thing was so loud; it sounded like a nuke had just went off. Winston's ears were ringing loudly. He was on the ground, covering his ears in pain. His vision was slightly blurry.

Eve heard the loud noise, wondering if a bomb went off. She quickly dashed out of the den to find her mate on the ground, covering his ears while whimpering in pain.

"Winston! Are you okay? Can you hear me?", Eve asked, alarmed.

Winston's hearing was still bad, and his mate's voice was muffled. But he was still able to pick up what she said. He felt Eve trying to pick him up. With some difficulty, she managed to get Winston on all fours. She then heard the thunderous roar of a jet engine in the bright blue skies. The light tan furred wolf looked up at the sky to see a fighter jet flying in the distance. She folded her ears in terror, already knowing where the aircraft had come from.

Winston's hearing had come back somewhat. He noticed his mate looking at the skies. Seconds later, he saw what caused him to stumble back a few moments ago. Winston heard several booms, and saw a couple of trees topple in the distance.

"Oh no… dear god help us", Winston whispered. Without further ado, Winston ran back down towards the territory as fast as he could, kicking some dust behind.

((((()))))

Jasper Park Canada Thursday March, 20 2011 1:55pm

Everyone heard it. Everyone was shocked, scared, confused; the locals of the Western pack never expected this to happen. All the wolves saw the jet fly towards the alpha's den. At the last second, it flew straight up into the sky, barley missing the rocky structure. Not many wolves saw a jet, especially this close. One thing was for sure though; it was definitely not friendly.

As soon as everyone heard distant rumbling sounds in the distance, all the wolves began to run in every direction, yelling in terror. They all hurried to either their own dens or somebody else's. The fighter jet had begun its first attacks by launching missiles at random places, causing some trees to topple.

Unknown that both of their lives were in great danger, Kate and Humphrey walked towards their den, not knowing what they could do to kill time. Humphrey's ears perked up at the sound of a jet engine among the Canadian skies. It sounded somewhat close. What confused the omega is why there was a jet flying around their territory.

On closer inspection Humphrey identified the aircraft as a military variant of a jet. It wasn't normal for a human to fly a military aircraft around Jasper Park. Kate noticed that her mate had stopped walking and was looking up at the sky.

"What are you looking at, babe?", Kate asked, looking up at the sky with her mate.

"That", Humphrey replied, pointing at the distant jet that was banking towards them. The aircraft then began to fly straight for the couple, approaching faster than it looked like face to face. Humphrey knew that this was no ordinary jet. The way it was flying towards him and Kate was very menacing. This was defiantly not a human pilot. Someone had sent the jet to wipe out the Western Pack.

_Blaze, _Humphrey thought bitterly.

His first instinct was to protect Kate from any danger or hazard the jet can throw on them. The pilot fired three unguided rockets at the couple, and Humphrey reacted a split second later.

"Shit! Watch out!". Humphrey yelled, pouncing Kate away from the blast radius. As soon as both wolves were on the ground, the three rockets hit the ground and exploded, kicking up dirt everywhere. Two of the rockets caused some trees to topple over, one of them barely missing Kate and Humphrey. The last one exploded safely away from the couple. Humphrey heard the jet swoop in over them seconds later.

The two wolves got up quickly. Humphrey's next plan of action was to get to somewhere safe.

"Run!", the omega yelled to his mate. The two wolves began to run as fast as their legs could carry them. Kate's heart was already pounding hard against her chest, not because she was exhausted, but because she was scared out of her mind. She heard a vast amount of bullets hit the trees around her, causing them to produce a ricochet sound effect. Some bark came off in the process, while the jet flies over them at blinding speeds.

"What's going on? Who is this guy?", Kate asked, extremely confused as to why a human machine was attacking them. However, Humphrey dismissed her question.

"Not now, Kate!", the young grey wolf dismissed. Humphrey barely heard another missile being fired at them, but reacted just as fast as last time. "Watch it!", Humphrey warned, right before the projectile combusted near the two wolves, causing almost both of them to trip over due to the concussive force.

_We can't keep running forever. That thing has the advantage, _Humphrey thought. He looked around to see if there was any random den he and Kate could take cover in. he swung his head to the left and right, but nothing showed up. It was then that the omega saw a path to the left with a lot of trees close to one another.

_All those leaves give off a lot of shade. Maybe we can hide under the shadows until that jet leaves us alone, _Humphrey thought. Without thinking twice, he bolted straight towards the path.

"Kate, this way!", Humphrey beckoned. The tan furred wolf followed closely, still wary of the jet that was trying to kill them.

The path was darker than other parts of the woods, due to all the tree's leaves. Those leaves prevented much sunlight from reaching to the ground, giving the two wolves the upper hand. It wasn't too dark, so Kate and Humphrey didn't have much trouble navigating. Humphrey then went over and hid behind a large jagged rock.

"Over here", Humphrey said, pulling Kate's arm towards him, forcing the female to have her back against the rock.

The two wolves heard the aircraft fly over them, trying to locate them in the process. Kate, on the other paw, was scared out of her mind. Her face was full of sweat and her panting had only quickened. She had been trained from a pup for situations like an invading pack or other major threat during alpha school, but no wolf had ever had to face resistance from an advanced fighting aircraft piloted by a wolf. Usually invasions were small and brief, but this was much worse.

A thousand scenarios began to play in Kate's head, none of them positive. One included both her and Humphrey getting bombed to death by the jet. She had begun to shake violently in fear. Humphrey felt this against his fur, and turned around to see his loved one scared like she had just seen a demon. Humphrey had never seen Kate this scared before, and he worried that she might end up fainting on the ground.

"Shhh shh. Hey, it's okay. We're going to get though this, baby. Just stay calm for me, alright?" Humphrey whispered, gently caressing her face with his paw. The tan furred wolf began to cry quietly, digging her face into Humphrey's chest. The omega nuzzled her in hopes of calming her down. He could still faintly hear the fighter jet wandering in the skies searching for the couple.

Humphrey looked back at Kate, who was still crying softly under his chest. He could feel the warm tears on his fur, but paid no attention to it. "It's okay. We're going to get through this. I need you to be strong for me, okay?", Humphrey comforted.

The omega's ears perked up as the engines of the jet began to pick up volume. He then heard its cannon fire for about two and a half seconds. The bullets spread out in all directions, kicking up dirt and leaving some tiny holes in the ground. Luckily, the projectiles entirely missed Kate and Humphrey. He heard the jet fly over them again in blinding speeds. The sound of the engines made Humphrey's ears ring.

Kate had calm down a bit, but was still shaking. Humphrey tried to look up at the sky to locate the aircraft, but all of the leaves were blocking his view. He heard the jet gaining in on them again, and ducked back to cover.

Then, without any kind of warning, two more unguided rockets were fired at the couple, exploding after making contact with anything. One of them whizzed right past the two wolves and hit a tree, knocking it down. The other nearly hit the alpha and omega, but instead exploded between two more trees, which also fell down. The jet swooped by again a second later.

Humphrey began to worry, seeing as how some trees have been uprooted. There weren't as many leaves to conceal them, and sunlight poured though the openings. This could give the pilot an advantage.

"We need to leave, before that thing spots us", Kate suggested.

"No. we can't risk it. We'll get caught faster if we try and run for it", Humphrey explained.

The couple continued to take cover behind the rock, not wanting to peek their heads out due to lack of concealment. To Humphrey's surprise, the sound of the engines were actually getting fainter by the second. The grey wolf wondered if the pilot had decided to leave them alone.

After five more minutes, there was no sound other than the wolves own heartbeat and breathing. Humphrey couldn't hear the jet, but heard distant explosions. The omega already assumed that the jet was attacking another part of the Western territory.

"C'mon, it's safe now", Humphrey said, stepping out of cover.

"How do you know?", Kate asked, looking around for the jet.

"I don't here the bastard anymore, but I think he's attacking another part of our territory. I can hear the gunfire and explosions", Humphrey explained. He began to walk at a steady pace, still looking around the sky just to be on the safe side. Kate was right behind him soon after,

"Wait so, where are we going?", Kate asked.

Humphrey was about to come up with a reply, but in reality, he had no idea where he could go. "We just need to find help", Humphrey simply answered. With that the two wolves ran wherever their furry legs would take them.

((((()))))

He knew that things would get this bad. Blaze always wanted to rule over all four packs in Jasper Park, and the elderly grey and white wolf knew he would go this far. Winston climbed down his den at a frantic pace, wanting to make sure that the pack's defenses were ready. Once he made to ground level (his den is positioned on top of a small mountain), he began to search for his most trusted beta: Hutch.

The large crowd of panicking wolves wasn't making the search any easier. Winston eventually saw the grey beta, trying to calm down the local residents, but to no avail. The alpha barked twice to get Hutch's attention. The beta turned around to see Winston sprint walking towards him with a look of concern on his face.

"What's the situation, Hutch?", Winston asked.

"Everyone's going crazy, sir. It all started when we saw that thing fly around", Hutch explained. He moved out of the way when a random wolf came running towards him, going who knows where. "Now's our chance to prepare the warriors, sir. The fighter jet seems to be distracted with someone or something out in the outskirts of our territory", Hutch explained. Warriors were the equivalent of a human soldier in a wolf pack. They are in charge to maintain order during times of conflict and to repel invasions when needed.

Winston looked up to see the fighter jet fly in a straight line. From his point of view, it was nothing but a faint grey smudge flying around. It then turned around, preparing for a gun-run. He didn't know what it was shooting at, but if the pilot's distracted, that much time could prevent lives from getting lost.

"You're right. You go tell our boys that we have a serious threat, and to ready our defenses pronto", Winston ordered. The beta nodded his head before heading off to find the Western pack's warriors. The alpha noticed many of the wolves were having worried conversations, mostly about what "that thing" was, where it came from, and other stuff.

Hutch was running towards the warrior's stronghold, a den that was responsible for housing the pack's military and a place where plans, tactics, and strategies were discussed. After running for four more minutes, the vast den was in sight. It was guarded by two armed wolves, and Hutch wondered if they have even heard the jet flying around.

The stronghold was larger than it looked from the outside. It was divided into several chambers, each with a different purpose. One chamber was used to store ammunition and every type of weapon the Western pack has gathered. Another one was a command center. One chamber was used for planning attacks and other types of plans. The biggest chamber kept all the aircraft and vehicles the military had in store.

Hutch began to make his way towards the two armed wolves with the most serious expressions you'll ever see. One of them noticed him and spoke.

"Can I help you?", the wolf asked, getting his partners attention.

"We have a situation on our paws. A big one. The northern/southern Pack sent a fighter jet to eliminate us and our entire pack. We need to ready our defenses", Hutch explained. However, the wolves didn't take his request as seriously as he had expected.

"That's a nice story, but we need proof first before we can ready the anti-air defenses", the second wolf explained.

"Dammit, guys! Don't you hear that thing flying in the distance?! This order comes from our alpha, and he wants to see that jet knocked out of the sky ASAP", Hutch argued, frustrated.

"That's fine and all but we need to confirm there is a threat in our territory", the first wolf said.

"Fine. Just listen closely", Hutch simply replied. The two wolves shrugged their shoulders and did what they were told. They angled their ears toward the sky to hear anything. About ten seconds later, two very faint explosions managed to enter the wolves' eardrums, followed closely by the sound of a supersonic aircraft flying around.

"Damn, you weren't screwing around", one of the wolves mused.

"You thought I was joking?", Hutch asked in disbelief, one of his eyebrows raised. However, his question was ignored as one of the wolves got on his radio.

"Command, this is echo 2, be advised, we have an imminent threat in our territory. Our alpha wants us to ready our defenses pronto, over", the wolf explained. Seconds later, he got a response, which was cued by a small beep in his radio.

"Roger that echo 2. What's the opposition? Over", the wolf on the radio asked.

"Looks like a fast mover sent by the alpha of the northern/southern pack, over", the guard answered.

"Okay, we'll get boots on the ground in 5 mikes tops, out", the wolf on the radio said one last time, before cutting off the connection.

"Alright, tell Winston that our warriors will be ready to assist in five minutes tops. We'll let out a warning howl to signal the locals to get to safety", the wolf ordered.

"Thanks", Hutch said, before running off to find Winston.

Meanwhile every western pack wolf was scared, confused and shocked when they witnessed the fighter jet bombard the outskirts of their territory. They were too frightened to run around screaming in terror. Many of them stayed close to their former buddies and family members,

While trying to think of a backup plan for the situation, Winston hoped that Hutch got the warriors on alert and ready to defend the pack at all cost. It wasn't everyday there was an invasion, so naturally the military was caught by surprise.

The grey elderly alpha looked up to see the aircraft continue to bomb the outer territory. He didn't know what it was distracted on, so he hoped it was not a member of his pack…or worse.

He continued to stare at the jet, which was not attacking the main part of the Western territory. The alpha didn't know if the pilot was doing this on purpose, or if it was some sort of strategy. Then, something caught Winston's eye. The jet was now facing directly at him, and was slowly increasing in size. This could only mean one thing.

Acting purely on instinct, Winston sprang up to his feet and began to run as fast as he could away from the jet. He could hear the engines getting louder and louder with each passing second. As fast as Winston's legs were carrying him, he heard and saw the jet swoop over his head, almost knocking him off his feet a second time that day.

He continued to run, knowing that the pilot was intent on attacking the most populated area in the Western territory. As he continued to run, he slammed into something, or someone, forcing him to tumble and roll in the dirt. The impact could have knocked both wolves out in an instant. Winston looked up to see Hutch slowly getting back up, groaning in pain.

"You alright, Hutch?", Winston asked as he got back up.

"Yea, I'm fine. I was just here to tell you that the pack's military is ready to assist", Hutch replied. The beta looked up to see the jet was now focused on bombing the central part of the territory. The jet was slowly turning around, preparing to strike.

"Damn! That thing is gonna attack any minute now. Where's that signal?"", Hutch complained.

Then, as if on cue, a loud wolf howl rang across the entire Western and Eastern land. This was no ordinary howl however. It was one that signaled that a pack was in grave danger from an invasion. What wolves would usually do when they hear a howl like this is run to any available den and wait until the all clear is given. It was basically the equivalent of an air raid siren.

"Now's our only chance. We need to get every civilian to safety before more lives are lost", Winston said. The alpha ran up to a large group of wolves, who were cowering in fear when they heard the jet fly by closely to the ground.

"Everyone! Take your family and get to a secure den, now! We are under attack! I repeat, we are under attack!", Winston yelled out. Everyone soon scattered like there was no tomorrow. Mothers grabbed their pups by the scruff and ran off into the distance. Others dove into whatever cover they could find lying around. Some more paranoid wolves began to scream their asses off for no reason.

Even though Winston had shouted so loud that Tony could hear, the two warnings (the howl and Winston's command) were not triggered fast enough. The jet had turned back around and launched 8 rockets in random directions. Three exploded on the ground, suppressing some civilians. Two had caused several trees to collapse, two of them catching on fire. The other four explosives were aimed directly at a group of wolves. The blast had injured most of them, while one instantly died.

It all happened so fast. Winston and Hutch barely had any time to react as the rockets exploded right in front of them. The blast made the alpha's ears ring loudly, while dirt was being kicked up from all directions, some landing on his fur. He barely had any time to notice that some wolves were caught in the blast radius of some of the rockets. Both Winston and Hutch took cover behind a rock as the jet made another pass overhead. They both prayed that someone would put an end to this madness.

((((()))))

Jasper Park Canada Thursday March 20, 2011 2:10pm

Balto always wanted to take the peaceful path whenever he can. The hybrid knew that violence would only make things worse. He could have sworn that this Blaze guy would accept Winston's terms half an hour ago. What he didn't know was the wolf's backstory and personality. That was what caused a violent ending into the little meeting.

Now the wolf-dog was hearing another strange sound coming from the sky, followed by what sounded like a war-zone in the distance. He knew something was wrong, and went to go see his three sled dog friends; Nikki, Kaltag and Star. The sound of distant rumbling only encouraged him to sniff out their scents faster.

Balto found the three dogs near the den he had found yesterday. They all had the same expressions as he did: confusion.

"Hey Balto, you know what that thing up at the sky is?", Kaltag asked, pointing at the distant jet which looked like a grey dot.

"I think I know as much as you do, Kaltag", Balto replied, gazing up at the strange object in the sky.

The wolf-dog continued to hear the distant explosions coming from the outskirts of the woods, along with the faint sound of the jets engines. The four dog's ears perked up when they heard the engines getting louder. Just two seconds later, they saw the jet fly over them at incredible speeds. The engines were so loud that Balto felt like his eardrum was about to pop.

The four sled dogs witnessed the aircraft launch a group of projectiles they have never seen before from its wings (which were actually the 8 unguided rockets that caught Winston and Hutch by surprise). The four dogs were already deaf from the jet's engines, but Balto could tell that those projectiles were dangerous, as he saw columns of dirt shoot up violently.

"We have to find Kodi and Dusty…now!", Balto shouted to his friends (he barely heard his own voice). But the three sled dogs were still deaf from the jet.

"What!?", shouted Star.

"WE HAVE TO FIND MY SON AND DUSTY BEFORE THAT ALIEN SPACESHIP THING KILLS THEM!", Balto screamed loudly. Nikki, Star and Kaltag only nodded their heads. They have never heard their lead dog yell so loudly. But then again they really didn't know how loud he screamed since their ears were still ringing.

The four of them began to look around for the two teenage huskies, with Balto leading the way. He sniffed the ground, trying to find a scent he recognized. The four dogs didn't bother on finding Kodi's other friends, since they were in the Eastern territory and the jet seemed to be focused on the Western pack. Unknown to the four dogs (because their still deaf), hell was breaking loose just 50 meters from their current location.

After some time, Balto's hearing (along with the others) had improved to the point of them hearing a wolf howl from a distance, and a howl that Balto knew too well. The four of them also heard distant screams of terror and the same jet flying around "c'mon, we gotta hurry", Balto said, encouraging the three sled dogs behind him to pick up the pace.

Once the wolf-dog caught Dusty's scent, he dashed straight towards the invisible trail. It didn't take long for the four dogs to find Kodi and Dusty sitting in their den with scared expressions on their faces.

"You guys alright?" Balto asked with concern. The two young huskies nodded.

"We saw it fly over us so fast we couldn't make up what it actually was", Dusty replied nervously, her voice shaking.

"I'll tell yous what it was. It's an alien spaceship from the future", Nikki retorted. However, no one found the chow-chows joke amusing.

"Nikki, shut the hell up. We're in danger here, and we don't even know what that thing is", Balto said.

"I'll say one thing; I don't think we're in 1930 Balto. This is the second time we see a futuristic vehicle today", Kaltag reminded.

"Yea, and this one wolf said I should use a "telephone" to contact Jenna", Balto replied.

"What's a telephone?", Kodi asked, cocking his head.

Before anybody had time to answer, the jet somehow had caught sight of the group of dogs (at least Nikki, Kaltag, Star and Balto), and fired its gatling gun at them. There was a hail storm of bullets flying down in all directions. A lot of them hit some trees, scraping the bark off them. Balto dashed straight inside the den while his three friends dove behind some bushes. A second later the jet flew over them for the second time.

"That thing is really trying to kill everyone ain't it?", shouted star from behind the bushes. Balto knew whoever was in the driver seat of that "thing" was here to destroy the whole Western Pack. Realizing that his son and his friend's life were at risk, he decided that they should be with Nikki, Star and Kaltag, who have been in dangerous situations before.

"You three, I want you to take Kodi and Dusty back to our den until the coast is clear. I don't want them getting caught in the crosshairs of that aircraft", Balto ordered as his friends stepped out into the open again.

"Wait, so what are you gonna do?", Star asked.

Balto hesitated for a moment. He wasn't sure how everyone would react to his next statement. "I'm going to try and help as many people as I can out there. If I know anything, it's that that aircraft was made to kill and destroy everything it desires", Balto replied, before running off.

Kodi tried to run after his dad, but he felt someone grab his by the scruff. Dusty had her teeth clinged on Kodi's fur, making sure he wouldn't do something stupid again.

"No, Kodi! It's too dangerous", Dusty exclaimed.

"But I just can't stand here and watch him risk his life for a bunch of wolves he doesn't know", Kodi countered.

"I know, Kodi. But I can't afford to lose you", Dusty replied. Kodi still felt unsure if staying behind was the best idea. "He'll be back…I promise", Dusty comforted. The red furred husky eventually nodded his head. He looked back one last time, but his father had already vanished.

"C'mon guys. We gotta get to safety", Kaltag said. The two young huskies followed the three sled dogs back to their den, while the sound of more explosions erupting in the distance added a war-like ambience.

((((()))))

The jet pilot made sure to follow Blaze's order: to wipe out the entire Western Pack at all cost. The pilot banked the jet and made a left turn. He then pushed the joystick downwards, causing the aircraft to face the ground at an angle. He fired two unguided rockets at some Western wolves, killing them instantly. Pieces of flesh shot up everywhere, followed by a shower of blood staining the dirt ground. The pilot pulled up, made another left turn, and attempted to kill another civilian. He fired the gatling gun, but the wolf managed to get away. The pilot did manage to collapse a tree, which caught on fire later.

He has been in grave situations before, but Balto had never had to fight off a machine from the future designed to kill. The wolf-dog was running at the same speed he was running when he was practicing for the sled race back in Nome. The world around him whizzed by as the hybrid kept dodging rocks and jumping over fallen trees.

He heard the jet fly near him, along with the sound of the gatling gun firing. Balto nearly got hit by a falling tree, but managed to outrun it right before it hit the ground. The wolf-dog made a right turn but stopped in his tracks when he saw something. He backed up to see a grey wolf step out of some bushes. He looked terrified, his whole body shaking.

"Are you alright?", Balto asked, stepping a bit closer to the wolf. The wolf only nodded.

"Yo-your n-n-not one of th-them a-are you?", the wolf asked. Balto assumed he was talking about him being one of Blaze's goons.

"No, I'm not. I'm only here to help", Balto assured. Once the wolf heard those words his body was no longer tensed. The wolf breathed a sigh of relief. Balto looked up cautiously at the sky when he heard the engines of the jet close by.

"How can I get rid of that thing?", Balto asked the lone wolf.

"I'm not sure. I'm sure our military will handle it, but I'm not sure why they're not here by now", the wolf explained.

Balto sighed in slight frustration. He was hoping he can somehow scare the aircraft away without actually taking the pilots life, but it looked like he was out of options (at least non-lethal options).

"Get away from this place. It seems that machine is focused on this part of your pack. Which I guess makes sense since this part is more populated. But anyways, run in that direction until your alpha gives you the all clear", Balto ordered, pointing his paw at a random direction. The wolf nodded his head before running off in the direction Nikki, Kaltag, Star, Dusty, and Kodi went.

The wolf-dog continued to head towards the main part of the Western Pack, all while still being wary of the jet that was bombing the entire forest. He heard a missile whoosh past him, exploding a second later. He picked up the pace to make sure he wasn't caught in the crossfire.

He had made it to a rather large clearing, only to witness the whole place was in bad shape. Lots of tress were either on fire, collapsed, or both. There were several dead bodies, along with some injured wolves moaning in pain. He ran 20 more meters to find some active civilians, trying to find any type of secure cover.

Balto tried to shout warnings to them, but the jet came in for another gun-run. The pilot fired a guided missile unto a random den. The missile combusted on the structure, causing it to turn into rubble. The jet turned around, now aiming right at Balto. He fired his gatling gun, but the wolf-dog reacted and sidestepped away from the bullets.

_I need to focus. These wolves need my help_, Balto thought. He ran up towards an injured wolf whose right hind leg was blown off. He dragged the wounded canine behind a rock, outside of the open.

"Hey! We need a medic!", Balto shouted, hoping someone would hear him. A moment later two wolves ran towards him, gazing at their injured pack mate.

"Take him to whoever your doctor is before he bleeds out, now!", Balto ordered. The two wolves looked at each other, but then complied. They carried the injured wolf away from all the action. The hybrid then took another look at the area. Many wolves were running in all directions, a careless mistake many people do during a crisis. The wolf dog heard the jet closing in on him. The aircraft fired another rocket, this time at Balto. The hybrid tried to get out of the way, but the blast caused him to be blown away at least 5 meters. His ears rang a little, but shook it off and got back up quickly.

Balto ran up to a family that didn't know what to do or where to go.

"Can you please help us? How do we get our little boy to safety?", the mother wolf asked, showing Balto her male pup who was cowering behind his mother's front legs. He looked absolutely terrified, with tears running down his face. Balto felt pity for the family (especially the little pup).

"Take your family and head towards the Eastern territory. It's the safest area right now, and that thing seems to be ignoring that part of the forest", Balto explained to the father wolf, pointing his finger where the border would be located.

"Thank you so much" the father wolf said, shaking Balto's paw quickly before he and his mate and son ran off. Balto felt good inside his heart, but he knew things were far from over. Once again he heard the roar of the jet's engines getting louder with each passing second. Balto was ready to dodge whatever the machine had in store, but the pilot wasn't aiming for the hybrid, but instead for Howling rock.

The hybrid saw the aircraft zoom right past him and started attacking the mountain where the Western wolves usually have their howling sessions. The pilot started off by firing at any bystanders trying to get off the mountain with the 20mm gatling gun. One of the wolves didn't stand a chance he was demolished by a hail storm of bullets. His arm and some chucks of skin came flying off in separate directions. Another wolf was struck in the leg, crippling him.

The pilot made a u-turn, trying to get some distance between him and the mountain. Then he made yet another u-turn, ready for a second attack. It first lazered a random spot on the mountain for one of the missiles to track unto. Once he heard a "beep" sound, he fired the missile that went straight towards its target. The projectile exploded, causing a mini-avalanche of rocks and debris. Several other civilians trying to get off the mountain nearly got crushed by the oversized rocks. The pilot finished off by firing several more unguided rockets at random spots, creating craters all over the mountain. By now Howling rock was nothing more but a mountain on fire. The smoke the flames released traveled high up into the sky, where anyone can spot them.

Balto knew he couldn't do anything for the people that were on that mountain. The only thing he could do was pray that no one was hurt. He decided to venture off to find anyone else who needed help. He ran and ran, while still being wary of the overhead killing machine. He noticed the aircraft was increasing in altitude greatly. The hybrid's ears perked up at the sound of a feminine voice shouting someone's name.

"Kate! Kate where are you?!", shouted the unknown voice.

Balto walked through some bushes and stuck his head out. He saw a pure white wolf just like his mother, Aniu. The difference was that this wolf was alive and looked like she was just a year old. She also had some fur covering her left eye. The wolf looked worried and concerned at the same time. _Isn't that Kate's little sister (?), _Balto thought.

"Kate, answer me! Where are you!?", Lilly yelled out again, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Balto looked back up at the sky to see the jet slowly beginning to increase in size again. It was very high up in the sky, but the faint grey dot was becoming more clearly displayed. Using his advanced wolf eyesight, Balto quickly saw that the aircraft was pointed directly at the lone female wolf. What's worse was that the wolf didn't even realize it.

"Kate! Please answer me!", Lilly shouted again, almost on the verge of crying.

Lilly spun her head around in all directions, trying to locate her sister. She needed to know she was safe and not hurt. Her ears perked up at a familiar sound that she wished she had never heard. Lilly looked up at the sky to see the jet that was terrorizing the entire pack fly right towards her. She was so scared that her whole body had locked up, not letting her move what so ever. Since she knew there was no way she could outrun it, let alone hide from it, she curled up into a ball, sobbing quietly, waiting for it to all end.

Balto had to think of something fast. The poor wolf noticed the dangerous machine close in on her. Balto's stomach flipped upside-down with remorse when he saw the innocent wolf curl up into a ball, submitting herself to the killing machine and waiting to be slaughtered. Without thinking twice, Balto leaped out of the bushes and ran straight towards Lilly. Using his sharp teeth, he grabbed the she-wolf by the scruff and dragged her to another nearby bush as fast as he could.

Before he could make contact with the bush, the pilot fired a missile where Lilly was supposed to be, had she not been dragged away. The missile hit the ground and exploded violently, while the force of the blast knocked Balto off his feet. He stumbled to the ground due to him running at a fast pace. He heard the machine fly past them, only inches from missing the ground.

Balto and Lilly were now lying in the dirt. The dirt on Lilly's fur was more noticeable than on Balto's fur due to color differences. The wolf-dog noticed that Lilly was still cringing in fear and submission. She was so scared that she must have not noticed or felt Balto rescue her from certain death. What seemed like half an hour later, the white wolf slowly lifted her head up, checking her surroundings. She spun around when she felt somebody else's fur rubbing against her. She gasped when she saw an unfamiliar wolf-dog only inches away from her. The white wolf quickly came to the conclusion that this wolf had saved her, but she wasn't 100% sure if she was alive.

"You….. did you just….", Lilly stuttered. Balto only nodded his head, maintaining his cool.

"You saved my life", Lilly whispered. Once again the wolf-dog nodded.

"I may not know exactly what that thing is, but you looked so hopeless and… I just couldn't stand there and watch you get tear to pieces by that thing", Balto explained solemnly. He took a tiny step forward. "You're not hurt are you?"

"I don't think so", Lilly replied. She checked all around herself to make sure. All she really saw was a bunch of dirt on her fur. Balto looked back up at the sky to notice that the aircraft was flying away from them.

"I heard you shouting your sister's name", Balto noted.

"Yea, I wanted to find her with all the crisis going on. I really don't feel secure without her by my side", Lilly explained.

The wolf-dog nodded, understanding. He knew that staying in the open wasn't a good idea, especially if that machine had intentions of returning there. "I know a safe place you can hold out for the mean time. You should come with me", Balto suggested. The hybrid helped the young wolf up to her paws, and headed off.

((((()))))

Jasper Park Canada Thursday March 20, 2011 2:45pm

By now the jet had done a lot of damage to the Western woodlands. The casualties were going up by the minute. Luckily, the Western Pack military was already on their way to intercept and destroy the jet terrorizing the Western Pack.

A convoy of trucks (wolves can drive?) have just located the fighter, which was somewhere in between the alphas den and near the feeding grounds. Each transport truck carried specially trained wolves that had been itching for any type of action since the jet had arrived. Faro, being a battle-hardened wolf himself, was the leader of the group of wolves. The four trucks passed through a lot of debris, which mostly made up of fallen trees on fire, and destroyed dens.

Right now Faro was informing the wolves about the current situation and the latest Intel they have gathered. He made sure his headset was on so that the other wolves in the other trucks would hear him as well. The black wolf somehow always knew something like this would happen. Although he didn't know Blaze as much as his alpha did, he knew the wolf enough to know that he would go this far to gain what he wanted.

Faro cleared his throat to get the other wolves' attention. "Alright people listen up", he announced in a commanding voice.

"Current situation is that Blaze, alpha of the Northern/Southern pack, has sent that fighter jet to eliminate our own pack….. all of it", Faro began.

"Now don't tell me why he's doing this, that's not important. What's important is that we have lost too many civilians already, let alone the damage to the territory. Our target is a mig-29 Russian fighter jet flying around in our airspace. Be very cautious. That pilot knows what he's doing, and from the looks of it, he won't hesitate to wipe us out", Faro explained. Everyone nodded their heads as soon as he finished speaking.

Faro looked outside only to see chaos all around him. The truck passed by a she-wolf sobbing right next to a gruesome dead corpse, presumably her mate or close friend. It reminded Faro of what happened back in his past, that god forsaken memory. He shook his head to get the memories out of his head. He needed to focus if he was going to keep his team alive.

One of the wolves in the truck noticed all the destruction. "Damn…. It's like hell on earth", the wolf mused. Faro glanced right at him.

"Trust me. This is only the beginning", Faro replied. Everyone looked at him, confused as to what he was saying. "Once this is all over, I'm 99% sure that our pack will go to war for the first time in a long time. Winston won't let this go unanswered", Faro predicted. Since it was so gloomy and depressing, one of the other wolves decided to make a light joke.

"What about that other one percent sir?", the young recruit asked.

Faro grinned slightly, "in that case we'll…", Faro's comment was cut short when a nearby explosion almost hit the truck he was in. the blast almost flipped the truck over. Everyone hung on to anything they can get their paws on. Faro heard the jet fly by the truck. He turned to the driver. "Hey hey, he's on to us!", he shouted to the driver. In response the truck began to pick up speed. One of the wolves was already shivering in fear.

"Oh man, we're so screwed man. We're totally…"

"Shut up, private! We're gonna send that s.o.b right into hell and not one of us is gonna get killed!" shouted Faro. The black wolf looked up to see the jet aiming straight at the convoy from a distance. Next thing he knew, the third truck in the convoy was blown up, flipping the heavy vehicle multiple times. The truck behind it lost control and crashed straight into a large tree, causing it to fall. Faro saw the jet almost crash right into the truck he and his team were in. luckily, the pilot dove up at the last second.

"Driver! Drop us off, now!" Faro commanded.

"It's too hot, sir!", the driver shouted back.

"We don't have another choice! We're in that things line of fire!", Faro shot back.

A few seconds later the truck drifted to a stop, followed by the second truck to come to a halt. Wolves from both trucks began exiting the canvas bay with guns drawn. Two wolves, one from each truck, were equipped with a rocket launcher. Faro was one of them.

"Everyone, huddle up!", Faro commanded. The two teams of wolves quickly joined together to create one big crowd of soldiers. Faro saw the smoke coming from one of the destroyed trucks in the distance. His ears perked up at the sound of the Mig-29s engines.

"On me! Away from the vehicles!", Faro yelled out. Everyone soon began to follow Faro, who was leading them away from the troop transport trucks and following the dirt trail. The drivers began to exit the vehicles, but they were too late as the jet launched two guided missiles at the trucks. A second later two massive fireballs shot up at the sky. Everyone dove to the ground, covering their faces. The jet passed by them in blinding speeds. Faro quickly got back up, shaking some dirt off of his black fur.

"C'mon. Keep following the dirt road! We don't have time to waste!", commanded Faro.

The two groups of wolf soldiers began to swiftly run at a steady pace, following the dirt trail the trucks were suppose to be driving. Some were already beginning to pant, but the fact that the jet had killed many of their allies motivated them to not take a single break. After a couple of minutes of running, Faro's headset went off.

"Whisky 2-4, this is command, what's your status? Over"

"The convoy has been compromised. All trucks have been destroyed. We're proceeding to objective delta on paw, over", Faro radioed back.

"Uh… did anyone survive, over?"

"Only the teams from my truck and truck number two. I don't think anyone survived the crash on trucks 3 and 4" Faro replied.

"Solid copy. Shoot down that fighter plane out of the skies ASAP. I don't care how you get it done, out".

Faro turned off his headset and cursed under his breath. He was still running, and the launcher he had made his shoulder ache. He looked back at the vast group of soldiers closely behind him, who looked like they could collapse at any minute. Faro however, was running on massive adrenaline. The black wolf saw several walls of sandbags, plus large rocks and trees up ahead, making great use of cover. This would make a perfect spot in taking out the jet.

"Everyone find some cover", Faro said, heading towards one of the sandbag made walls.

Every wolf immediately ran up to trees, rocks, whatever would keep them alive from the jet that was menacing them from above. Some laid their backs against the objects and panted fast, exhausted. Everyone heard the jet swoop in over them.

"Oh crap! Did he see us, sir?!", shouted one of the soldiers.

Faro peeked his head out a bit. He noticed the jet was low to the ground and was banking left. The pilot was making a u-turn right towards them!

"Oh, he's on to us alright!", Faro replied back, getting some curses from some of the wolves in response. He immediately heard a large amount of bullets ricocheting off the rocks and sandbags.

"Get down!", yelled out Faro.

Everyone once again heard the jet fly overhead. The pilot was now making yet another u-turn to face the group of military wolves. Faro and some other wolves vaulted over the other side of their cover. Faro began to pull out his FIM-92 stinger, ready to attack the jet.

"Ey! Take out your launcher!", Faro shouted to the other wolf that had the same type of rocket launcher. The wolf did as instructed. The jet was closing in on them, so Faro had to make up a plan of attack fast.

"Okay, here's what we'll do! Everyone is going to shoot that jet with your rifles when the pilot comes in for a gun run. The bullets should distract him a bit, and that we'll buy me some time to shoot him down! Got it!?", shouted Faro.

He immediately got a "yes sir!", from everyone. The black wolf noticed that the jet had completed its u turn, and was ready for round 2.

"FIRE! EVREYONE FIRE!", Faro screamed out.

A split second later every wolf peeked out and started to fire upon the fighter jet, even thought they knew they would miss horribly. Faro signaled the other soldier to take aim at the mig-29 with the stinger. They both aimed at the jet, and heard a rapid beeping sound. What they needed to hear was a single long beep sound to fire the missile. However, the jet swooped by fast enough to avoid a lock on.

Damn! Turn around!", Faro shouted. Both he and the other soldier spun around and took aim at the back of the jet. This time, they got plenty of time for the lock on. The two wolves fired their launchers at the same time. The soldier next to Faro fell to the ground due to the massive amount of recoil. However, the pilot had released several flares, taking the missiles off course. Stinger missiles were designed to recognize and target the hottest heat source. Since flares are hotter than the jets engines, the missiles follow them instead of the jet.

"Shit, he's popping flares! Reload, reload!", Faro shouted.

All of the other wolves had stopped firing and were waiting for the next set of orders. Faro had a nearby soldier reload his launcher with the other soldier doing the same. Once they were ready, they took aim again at the jet that was banking left again.

"c'mon…c'mon!", Faro whispered to himself, waiting for the lock on. As soon as he heard the long beep, Faro fired his launcher for the second time. The jet was already facing the crowd of soldiers. All the other wolves reloaded their rifles and started to fire again. The pilot fired the nose cannon, but there was no point as he was struck by the two stinger missiles. The jet exploded violently in the air, with pieces of the craft flying all around. The main, large pieces crashed into the dirt road, with some sliding over the dense forest at dangerous speeds. The smaller pieces just fell around the wolves like rain. The jet pieces nearly hit the squad of soliders. Faro breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mission…accomplished", Faro whispered to himself. He looked behind him to see the flaming pieces of the jet all around the dirt road. But he knew that there was no way that the chaos was over.

Now that the attack was over, there was a lot of cleaning up to do. The pilot of that jet of well trained and had caused some serious damage to the Western land. The Eastern pack wolves had heard the commotion minutes after the jet had begun attacking. Some of them entered the territory to help anyone who was under distress.

As of now, the Western territory looked like it had gone through hell. There were pillars of smoke rising up to the sky due to the trees that have caught on fire. Several destroyed dens had left some Western wolves homeless. The dozens of lost lives left many families in grief. This day would truly be remembered for generations.

Faro and the remaining of his team had to walk all the way back to the main part of the territory since their trucks got destroyed during the attack. It was a long walk, and it gave everyone time for thought. Some were worried of the outcome of this event while others (like Faro) were ready for any type of action. Everyone's heart ached when they saw all the destruction and gruesome corpses. After an attack like this, it was almost impossible not to return the favor to the Northern/Southern pack by declaring war. In a wolf's world, revenge is very common when someone had done him or her wrong.

Faro decided that he would see Winston himself while his remaining squad members go back to base to rest. The black wolf still couldn't shake the thought that this attack reminded him of what happened back to his old pack. He saw the pack alpha comforting a she-wolf after she lost her grandmother when her den collapsed beneath her.

"Sir", Faro exclaimed.

The grey elderly wolf turned around to face the veteran. Faro bowed his head in respect. Winston dismissed the she-wolf to talk with the black wolf in front of him.

"Status, soldier", Winston ordered.

"Well sir, the territory is in pretty bad shape, sir", Faro replied.

"Yes, so I've seen", Winston said, looking back at a pile of destruction behind him.

"The, uh, aircraft's been dealt with. Only problem is that it took a lot of lives, including several of my men as well. It will take a couple of weeks to clean this damn mess up", Faro explained. Winston nodded his head.

"Well at least you got the job done"

"Yea but...what will you do now?", Faro asked.

"C'mon, Faro. You should know me well enough for you to figure out that question", Winston simply replied, before walking off. Faro was right behind him soon after.

"You really think it would be worth the risk? The lives?", Faro asked.

"We'll find out soon enough", the alpha answered, before walking off.

Faro saw the pack alpha walk off to who-knows-where. The black wolf decided to call it a day and head to his den, hoping it was in ruins like the other dens he saw.

((((()))))

Jasper Park Canada Thursday March 20, 2011 3:30pm

Even though everything was settled down, Winston still didn't know where his two daughters were. The Western territory was a big place, and Kate had already got lost one time. Now both sisters were somewhere out there, most likely injured... or worse.

Winston was worried about both of his daughters, but he was more worried about Lilly. Kate was an alpha, so she could take care of herself easily. Lilly, on the other paw, was younger and more fragile. The pack alpha didn't even want to think about what would have happened if that jet had killed either of his daughters. He would kill every last Northern/Southern pack wolf out there and save Blaze for last. And Eve, well, you don't wanna know what she'd do.

As he was sniffing the ground desperately, Winston heard some pawsteps coming behind him. The grey wolf turned around to have relief wash over him as he saw a familiar snow white wolf accompanied by a scruffy looking wolf-dog by her side.

"Daddy!", Lilly said happily, running up to her father and hugging him tightly.

"Lilly, oh thank goodness you're okay", Winston replied, returning her daughter's hug.

Balto sat there watching the heart-warming reunion of a father and daughter. He was glad he had saved the innocent wolf when he did. There had been way too much bloodshed in a day.

"Guess what, daddy? This wolf saved my life. If it weren't for him, I probably would not be here", Lilly explained as she let go of the alpha wolf.

Winston looked ahead of him to see Balto sitting on his haunches. The grey wolf was surprised that the wolf-dog had actually risked his life to save his own daughter. It was something you didn't hear every day. Winston slowly approached the hybrid, unsure if he was making him nervous.

"Did you really save my daughter, Balto?", he asked.

"Yes, sir. She was in distress and I couldn't just watch her die to that...thing up there.", Balto replied, looking back at Lilly, who smiled in return.

Winston was really astonished that someone he met just a few days ago would actually save his daughter from death. All this time he thought he was nothing more than just an ordinary guy that fell from the sky in the most mysterious way. But today, he proved himself worthy. The alpha smiled widely before shaking the hybrid's paw.

"Thank you so much, Balto. An act like yours really means a lot", Winston thanked. Balto was a bit shy but shook the wolf's paw anyways. It always felt good to do a good deed for someone, especially one like this. The two of them soon parted ways.

Winston still wasn't fully satisfied since Kate was still out there. He assumed she was probably with Humphrey, but that didn't exactly convince him that she was safe. Luckily, he and Lilly found her with Humphrey. They were both dirty, which probably meant they had a hard time with the fighter jet.

"Glad to see you're alive and well Kate", Winston said, just as Lilly ran up to her sister and gave her the biggest hug ever.

"Yea...that thing...didn't do...much harm", replied Kate, her voice strained due to the tightness of her sister's hug. "Okay Lilly...you can..let go now".

The white wolf backed away with an annoyed expression on her face. "Oh, that's really nice, Kate. Here I was a few minutes ago worrying that that thing may have killed you, I see you're okay, I express my love to you, and you just push me away?!", she said angrily.

"Sorry", Kate apologized, nuzzling her sister. "I'm glad you're okay as well. I've seen all the chaos that pilot has caused on our way back here", she explained.

Winston smiled at the two sisters. He couldn't imagine what Kate's reaction would be if Lilly hadn't been saved by Balto during the entire crisis. "Looks like I won't have to be looking after you so much anymore, Kate. Today proved that", the alpha said.

Everyone turned around when Humphrey cleared his throat in an annoyed manner. "You really had no idea what was going on at the time that thing tried to kill us, do you?", the omega simply asked.

Winston cocked his head at the omega's statement. "Just what are you getting at?", he questioned.

At this, Humphrey grinned sheepishly, before answering. "Well...Kate here..", he began, turning towards his mate. "..Was crying like a little baby", he mocked.

"I was not!", Kate argued back.

"Uh-huh. You were scared out of your mind. I had to comfort you so you can keep quiet. Plus I was the one who got us to safety"

"Well... it's not everyday your pack gets attack by a freaking jet with missiles and stuff"

"You still cried though, and you even used me as your personal tissue"

Winston rolled his eyes at the two wolves arguing over stupidity. "Either way, I'm thankful you were by her side to protect her, Humphrey", Winston thanked.

Humphrey grinned triumphantly, "Well I am quite the hero, heh heh heh", the young grey wolf replied, cockiness coming out of his voice. Kate just rolled her eyes at his response. Winston looked up at the sky and noticed the sun was beginning to set over the horizon.

"Well, I think you two should head back to your den. Lilly, come with me", the alpha instructed. Everyone said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Winston knew he had an urgent message to give out to the pack's betas and deltas, but everyone was either shaken up or busy cleaning up that there was no time for a meeting.

_You won't get away with this, Blaze. Tomorrow, I'll make sure of that. You won't lay a paw on that artifact as long as I'm still breathing._

Both Winston and Lilly went back to the alpha den and decided to call it a day. Yet sleep would not come easily for the Western Pack's alpha.


End file.
